Scuffle in JNU during talk over abrogation of Article 370 in Kashmir

Union minister Jitendra Singh was the speaker at the event. Ahead of the event titled “abrogation of article 370: peace, stability and development in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”, around 30-40 students from different Left-affiliated and Ambedkar groups started to protest outside the venue.

A scuffle broke out between two sections of students in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday during a talk organised by the administration on the scrapping of Article 370 in Kashmir.

A scuffle broke out between two sections of students in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday during a talk organised by the administration on the scrapping of Article 370 in Kashmir. (ANI Photo)

Union minister Jitendra Singh was the speaker at the event. Ahead of the event titled “abrogation of article 370: peace, stability and development in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh”, around 30-40 students from different Left-affiliated and Ambedkar groups started to protest outside the venue. The protesters raised slogans against the communication blackout in Kashmir in the aftermath of the scrapping Article 370 by the Centre on August 5.

The situation turned tense when some members of the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) started a counter protest at the same site. A scuffle broke out between the members of both the groups when they started to outshout each other. However, no one was injured and there was no damage to the university property. Several videos of the scuffle which were shared on social media sites by students from the both the groups show people jostling and shouting at each other.

During his address, Singh said there has been no curfew in the Kashmir Valley ever since the Centre had announced the scrapping of Article 370 and reconstitution of the state of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories—Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

“There has not been a single day of curfew in Kashmir since August 5. Not a single incident of violence. I would like to give the credit to our home minister Amit Shah,” he said.

Singh made several remarks on former Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and the Congress during his address. “One of the greatest mistakes in the history of modern India was the partition of Indian subcontinent. The partition was an outcome of individual ambitions of certain aspirants who were in the hurry to reach to the top hierarchy which they knew would not have been possible in undivided India. We had Nehru here and Jinnah there,” he said.

“If the partition had not happened, the history of Indian subcontinent would have been different. We would not have been discussing the subject we are discussing,” he said, adding that the Article 370 was “more abused than used”.

While the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) termed the event as “government propaganda”, the varsity vice-chancellor Jagadesh Kumar said the JNU community supports “one nation and one constitution” theory.