Several members of the National Students’ Union of India at Rajasthan University were detained on Friday after they allegedly clashed with the police during a protest against an event linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh on the campus, reported PTI.
The National Students’ Union of India is the Congress’ student wing.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.
The protest had erupted after the NSUI alleged that a seminar being organised under the banner of “Marudhara Nari Sashaktikaran Sangathan at the Faculty of Humanities auditorium on Friday evening was meant to promote the RSS ideology, reported PTI. This was being done on the pretext of deliberating on women’s empowerment, they further claimed.
RSS official Ram Lal was scheduled to deliver a keynote address at the seminar, according to the news agency.
The Marudhara Nari Sashaktikaran Sangathan is affiliated with Bharatiya Stree Shakti, which is part of the Sangh Parivar, or the group of Hindutva organisations led by the RSS.
During a press conference on Thursday, members of the NSUI accused the Rajasthan University administration and the vice chancellor of indirectly promoting programmes affiliated with RSS, reported The New Indian Express.
Events linked to particular ideologies disrupt the academic atmosphere, they added.
On Friday, as NSUI members assembled at the university’s main gate, shouted slogans against the RSS and attempted to breach the barricades erected by the police.
They were stopped at the gate.
Vice Chancellor Alpana Kateja stated that the university had “no official information about the programme being conducted as an RSS-sponsored event”, reported PTI.
Kateja added that the university had only rented out the auditorium to a women’s organisation.
On the other hand, NSUI leader Amardeep Parihar, who led the protest, pointed out that a similar “Shastra Pujan” event organised by the RSS on the campus on September 30 had sparked similar protests.
Several NSUI members had been detained during their protest against an event to worship weapons ahead of the Hindu festival of Dussehra.
The programme was organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, which is the student wing of the RSS.
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