ABVP’s event at PU: 15 detained amid protest against right-wing leader

Members of the Punjab Students Union (Lalkaar), the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Ambedkar Student Front say they are against the institute’s ‘saffronisation’

More than 15 students were detained after a scuffle broke out between left-leaning student organisations and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) over a right-wing leader attending as the guest of honour at an event at Panjab University on Wednesday.

A protestor being detained outside the PL Anand Auditorium in Panjab University, Chandigarh on Wednesday. (HT Photo)

Members of the Punjab Students Union (Lalkaar), the All India Students’ Association (AISA) and the Ambedkar Student Front said they were against the institute’s “saffronisation.” Sarah, a member of PSU (Lalkaar), alleged that nearly 25 students were detained by the police until 6 pm.

The protest took place outside the PL Anand Auditorium at 3 pm where Tamanna Sharma, Punjab leader of the Rashtra Sevika Samiti, was the guest of honour at the ABVP event. ABVP president Ashish said the theme of the event — Seerat— was women’s empowerment. “No one from the ABVP was detained as we were staging a peaceful event, but the rivals tried to disrupt it, leading to a 30-minute delay.”

PU chief security officer Vikram Singh said around 15 or 16 students were detained by the police but were released a little later.

The university saw similar protests in July and March when protesters alleged that speakers linked to the RSS had been invited to PU events.