By TwoCircles.net news reporter,
New Delhi: A group of activists of ABVP, BJP’s students wing, went on rampage at the venue of a seminar on “Communalism, Fascism and Democracy: Rhetoric and Reality” today at Delhi University and spat on university lecturer SAR Geelani.
As soon as SAR Geelani, lecturer at Zakir Husain College of University of Delhi, entered the hall and took his seat on the stage, one of the ABVP activists sitting inside came up and spat on his face twice.
“It was then that we realised that this was a planned attempt to disrupt the public meeting – ABVP goondas were sitting inside the room and they rose to hurl abuses at the participants and physically attacked them,” said Umar Khalid, an official of the University Community, the group which organized the programme.
DUSU President Nupur Sharma (of ABVP) reportedly entered the room and declared that SAR Geelani cannot speak in the University.
“The ABVP goons attacked the women students and participants, broke the microphone and hurled chairs. They also manhandled media persons who were covering the meeting. Two journalists from Tehelka and Mail Today, who were speakers at the meeting, were threatened by ABVP,” said Khalid.
Rather than controlling those disrupting the program, for which permission was already taken, the Pro-Vice Chancellor and the Proctor called one of the organisers and told him that the meeting could not go on because it was creating a ‘law and order’ problem, alleged Khalid.
They were apparently protesting the presence of Geelani. Geelani was an accused in the Parliament attack case. He was later acquitted by the Supreme Court.
The program continued as the ABVP activists were pushed out of the hall. However, they continued protesting. “They threw stones at the room, broke window panes, tried to break the doors and continued abusing – Goli maaro saalon ko, Pakistan Murdabad, Vande Mataram – were some of the better ones,” Khalid said.
“During a meeting on communalism and fascism, we were witness to the threat and danger posed by these communal and fascist forces to the secular and democratic fabric of our country” he said.
The organizers have demanded the University administration to lodge an FIR against ABVP members, and set up an enquiry into this act of vandalism.
To protest vandalism of ABVP and their assault on academic freedom and democratic rights the organizers of today’s programme has called a protest meeting at the university.