NEW DELHI: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad has alleged that “objectionable” political graffiti, including slogans such as “Free Umar Khalid” and “Long Live Naxalbari”, have surfaced on the campus of Jawaharlal Nehru University, demanding that the administration take action against those responsible.In a statement, ABVP’s JNU unit accused activists linked to Left student groups of defacing campus walls with “offensive” slogans. The RSS-affiliated student body also alleged that offensive remarks had been written next to a portrait of V D Savarkar.The allegations come days after similar slogans reportedly appeared on the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia, where protests demanding the restoration of the students’ union have intensified. The unrest prompted the university authorities to shift classes online until further notice.In JNU, the ABVP claimed that such incidents undermined the institute’s academic environment and risked escalating ideological disagreements into confrontations on campus.ABVP JNU president Mayank Panchal said freedom of thought doesn’t give any ideology the right to disrespect opposing viewpoints or national figures.“Writing offensive remarks alongside Savarkar’s portrait and inscribing extremist political slogans on campus walls is not freedom of expression, but an attempt to vitiate the university’s atmosphere,” Panchal alleged.He urged the JNU administration to take cognisance of the incidents, identify those responsible and initiate appropriate action.ABVP JNU secretary Praveen Piyush accused Left-wing student organisations of attempting to disrupt the campus environment.“The university doesn’t belong to any single ideology,” he told news agency PTI.Piyush said that while students had the right to dissent, damaging public property, insulting national figures and raising slogans that could fuel tensions were not in the interest of the student community.The ABVP also criticised the slogans supporting Umar Khalid, who has been in jail since September 2020 in a ‘larger conspiracy’ case linked to the 2020 north-east Delhi riots, calling them an attempt to turn the campus into a site of political provocation.It said JNU should remain a space for diverse political and ideological views, but such freedom should not extend to defacing public property or engaging in activities that disrupt the academic environment.There was no immediate response from the student organisations named in the statement or the university administration.(With agency inputs)
