Senior journalist Siddharth Varadarajan had to be escorted out by police on Wednesday from the Allahabad University campus, after he was held hostage by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the right wing Bharatiya Janata Party, whose members alleged that the former Hindu editor was of a "communal mindset".
Varadarajan had arrived at the AU for a seminar on ‘Democracy, media and freedom of expression’ organised by the Allahabad University Students’ Union (AUSU) chief Richa Singh, reported the Indian Express. The ABVP leaders had been on a hunger strike ever since Varadarajan had accepted the invite.
The ABVP had allegedly planned to ink the face of Varadarajan and throw eggs at him and Singh but ditched their plans at the last minute, said ABVP leader Vikrant Singh.
“A physical attack would have given them more publicity. We gheroed the V-C’s office,” Singh told the Express.
The university administration eventually caved to ABVP and cancelled permission for holding the seminar in the varsity’s Senate Hall fearing a confrontation between student groups. Singh decided to hold the seminar at the union building. But even that plan did not materialize.
“ABVP members locked the building this morning and did not let us enter. While we moved to another place outside the campus, they organised a religious discourse in the union building,” Singh told Express.
Varadarajan had arrived at the AU for a seminar on ‘Democracy, media and freedom of expression’ organised by the Allahabad University Students’ Union (AUSU) chief Richa Singh, reported the Indian Express. The ABVP leaders had been on a hunger strike ever since Varadarajan had accepted the invite.
The ABVP had allegedly planned to ink the face of Varadarajan and throw eggs at him and Singh but ditched their plans at the last minute, said ABVP leader Vikrant Singh.
“A physical attack would have given them more publicity. We gheroed the V-C’s office,” Singh told the Express.
The university administration eventually caved to ABVP and cancelled permission for holding the seminar in the varsity’s Senate Hall fearing a confrontation between student groups. Singh decided to hold the seminar at the union building. But even that plan did not materialize.
“ABVP members locked the building this morning and did not let us enter. While we moved to another place outside the campus, they organised a religious discourse in the union building,” Singh told Express.
وكان الصحفي كبار سيدهارث فاراداراجان أن اصطحب بها الشرطة يوم الاربعاء من حرم جامعة الله أباد، بعد احتجازه رهينة من قبل أخيل بهاراتيا Vidyarthi باريشاد، الجناح الطلابي من الجناح الأيمن حزب بهاراتيا جاناتا، الذي زعم الأعضاء أن محرر الهندوسي السابق كان من "عقلية طائفية".
قد فاراداراجان وصلت الى الاتحاد الافريقي لندوة حول "الديمقراطية والإعلام وحرية التعبير" التي نظمها الاتحاد (AUSU) رئيس لجامعة الله أباد الطلاب ريشا سينغ وذكرت صحيفة انديان اكسبرس. وكان قادة ABVP كان في إضراب عن الطعام منذ فاراداراجان قبلت دعوة.
وقال زعيم ABVP فيكرانت سينغ ان يزعم أن ABVP يعتزم الحبر وجه فاراداراجان ورمي البيض في وجهه وسينغ لكنه تخلى خططهم في اللحظة الأخيرة.
"A الاعتداء الجسدي من شأنه أن يعطي لهم المزيد من الدعاية. وقال سينغ اكسبريس نحن gheroed مكتب V-C ل".
إدارة الجامعة أذعنت في النهاية إلى ABVP وألغت الإذن لعقد الندوة في قاعة مجلس الشيوخ للاسكواش وخوفا من المواجهة بين الجماعات الطلابية. قرر سينغ لعقد ندوة في مبنى النقابة. ولكن حتى تلك الخطة لم يتحقق.
"تخوض أعضاء ABVP المبنى صباح اليوم ولم يسمحوا لنا بالدخول. وقال سينغ اكسبرس في حين انتقلنا إلى مكان آخر خارج الحرم الجامعي، وأنها نظمت الخطاب الديني في بناء الاتحاد ".