11 November,2019 07:40 AM IST | Mumbai | Hemal Ashar
The poster which is the focus of the ABVP complaint
A day after the Ayodhya verdict, a student-led movement at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in New Delhi has created a stir. At least 50 students gathered at the campus over the weekend protesting the verdict. Reports claimed that a section of the students chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' during the meet, in retaliation to the protest. The ABVP's national secretary, Ashish Chauhan said, "The ABVP has no plans to celebrate. The JNU 'protest', if one could call it that, was arranged by some Left-leaning students or groups who like to create a ruckus over whatever the situation is."
Chauhan added, "I understand that rallies and protests or even forums to express an opinion, however inconvenient they may be, are part and parcel of campus life. In fact, this is the lifeblood of a student. Yet, when you have posters on campus which shout: 'Justice Denied: Join protest meet against the Babri verdict, against Hindu Rashtra, against the appeasing of the brahmanical collective conscience', somebody is bound to raise a voice." The ABVP said that there were social media posts that followed with taglines like, 'You are free to burn the Constitution if you are a Comrade'. "When you have posts like this, there is bound to be opposition. We call this incident shameful and one that should not be repeated." The ABVP further said that it had lodged a complaint at the local police station in New Delhi about the poster and Facebook posts which have gone viral. In response to a question about protest-movement spawning imitations among students here and across the country, Chauhan answered, "I do not see the Left-leaning initiative sparking a copycat movement in Mumbai. In fact, these extreme views that have been espoused in the poster, will not find resonance elsewhere."
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