By IANS
New Delhi : At least five students and private security persons were injured and a debate in the run-up to student union elections was unceremoniously stopped at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here after students clashed following a debate on Lord Ram’s existence.
According to the university authorities the presidential debate — which is widely considered the basis for getting elected to the varsity student union — was halted for the first time in recent history.
“The Bahujan Samaj Front (BSF) presidential candidate demeaned Lord Ram during the debate and when we (ABVP) asked him about his faith in Ram, he said ‘Ram is a Saitan’. Then we dragged him out of the podium,” said Manoj Kumar, vice president of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which is affiliated to the Bharatiya Janata Party.
“The presidential debate was halted for the first time in the history of JNU student union election. At least five security persons and students were injured in the incident,” Kumar told IANS.
BSF, student group of the Bahujan Samaj Party, had earlier circulated pamphlets doubting the existence of Lord Ram. The ABVP presidential candidate Amit Kumar Singh raised the issue during the presidential debate late Wednesday night, following which the clash took place.
JNU students vote Friday for the new student union.
“The supporters of the two unions engaged in blows and threw chairs at each other. Some Group 4 security persons were injured along with a few students, but none of them are seriously injured,” said a member of the varsity election committee.