BBC documentary in JNU: Power cut off, internet shut & students attacked
BBC Documentary on PM Modi: Some students alleged that the stone-pelters were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a charge the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student body denied.
Several students on Tuesday gathered at the JNU students' union office for a screening of a controversial BBC documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The students claimed the administration cut power and internet to stop the event and staged a protest after stones were pelted on them.
They also said that they were attacked while watching the documentary on their mobile phones as the screening could not be held, according to the news agency PTI.
Some students alleged that the stone-pelters were members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), a charge the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliated student body denied.
The protesting students, later in the night, raised slogans of ‘Inqlaab Zindabad’ against the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration and marched to the Vasant Kunj police station to lodge a complaint against the attackers.
Speaking to PTI, a JNU administration official (requesting anonymity) said that there is a major power line fault at the university which is be resolved at the earliest.
However, the varsity administration had given no immediate official response on the claims of the students. In an advisory, it had on Monday said that the union had not taken its permission for the event and it should be cancelled, warning of strict disciplinary action.
However, the JNU Students' Union had said that there is no intention to create any form of disharmony through the screening of the documentary, as per PTI reports.
It also sought a clarification from the administration regarding rules which mandate that prior permission is required for screening of any film or documentary on the university premises.
“Some students have seen ABVP activists pelting stones and recognized them. Some time back, a teacher had also called that there were some goons, weaaring masks, around the main gate and were talking about weapons,” JNU-All India Students Association (AISA) secretary Madhurima told PTI.
However, the ABVP refuted the allegations, saying they were not present at the spot.
The two-part BBC documentary “India: The Modi Question” claims it investigated certain aspects relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots when Modi was the chief minister of the state. The documentary has not been screened in India.
(With PTI inputs)
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First Published:25 Jan 2023, 09:27 AM IST
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