State Home Minister G Parameshwara on Wednesday defended the police response to the protests at Azim Premji University by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) workers who allegedly stormed the campus on Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Parameshwara said universities should be allowed to host debates, even on controversial topics. “They were preparing to conduct a seminar. Let them take up any topic. What will happen in the seminar other than discussion? There will be arguments both for and against,” he said.
He added that the government will take action against those who interfere in such events. “Should the police remain silent when people take the law into their own hands and try to prevent an event or attack students?” He added that strict measures will be taken to maintain order and protect students and institutions.
These statements came a day after the police registered a case against the ABVP members under sections relating to unlawful assembly, trespassing, assault, criminal intimidation and damage to property. The complaint, filed by the university security director, said protesters entered the campus, attacked security personnel and a student, and vandalized property.
According to the complaint, about 25 workers entered the Sarjapur Road campus around 6 pm on February 24. When security staff tried to stop them, the group allegedly assaulted them with wooden sticks, verbally abused them and made death threats. Six guards, identified as Jagadish, Chandan Mahalik, Chattar Bahadur, Naresh, Shripati and Harish, were injured. A first-year student, Mohamed Ali Ahmed, was also allegedly assaulted.
Police arrested some protesters and said further investigations were underway. “All necessary steps have been taken to ensure that law and order is not disturbed,” said Chandrakanth MV, district police inspector.
“On Tuesday evening, around 6 pm, a group of people stormed our Bengaluru campus. They chanted slogans, vandalized some properties, and assaulted a few of our security guards and students. We immediately reported the incident to the police. The police acted quickly and arrested them,” the university said in a statement.
She added that the program mentioned by the demonstrators did not happen. “The university follows strict procedures before holding any event on campus. This event, which was allegedly planned by a small group of students, did not happen at all. We strongly condemn the ruckus and violence unleashed by this outside group of people on our campus.”
The protest arose over objections to a proposed debate linked to the anniversary of the Kunan Pushpora incident. ABVP activists alleged that the program associated with SPARK APU, a student reading circle of the All India Students Association, promoted views critical of the Indian Army and encouraged secession. They demanded action against the organizers and called for a ban on the group.
In a counter-protest, university students demonstrated against the actions of the ABVP and called for government intervention. The All India Students Association condemned the incident and called it a “deliberate attack on the culture of debate, dissent and discussion that promotes critical thinking.”
Meanwhile, CN Ashwath Narayan, BJP MP and former deputy chief minister, described the university as a respectable institution, but said organizations allegedly working against national interests should not be allowed to operate on the campus. State BJP president P Vijayendra echoed Narayan’s comments. “When people raised slogans against India and Pakistan’s Zindabad in Vidhan Soudha, they were released. No university, for that matter, should give scope to anti-national elements. Yesterday, the ABVP had the right to protest when such things were carried out. The state government should take action against organizations doing so,” he said.
