The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Wednesday distanced itself from the installation of busts of V.D. Savarkar and other leaders by the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) at the Arts Faculty.
DUSU president Shakti Singh had said on Tuesday that they had put up the busts of Savarkar, Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose as a form of protest against the administration for not heeding to their demands of installing statues on the North Campus.
‘Keep it in DUSU office’
In a statement, the ABVP said that it was of the opinion that the statues be installed only after obtaining necessary permission from the university authorities.
While it supported the installation, a long-standing demand of the union, it said that the structures should be kept in the DUSU office until permission was granted.
Condemning the installation, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) said that the ABVP was following the footsteps of the RSS in propagating “false nationalism” by equating a “mercy petition seeker like” Savarkar to other freedom fighters. It attacked his legacy, highlighting undertaking and apologies he had made to the erstwhile colonial government.
The All India Democratic Students’ Union (AIDSA) also condemned the installation, attacking Savarkar’s legacy. It stated that his project of forming a “Hindu Rashtra” was against Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose’s ideologies.
As of Wednesday evening, the busts had not been removed from the area, which belongs to the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. The Zonal Deputy Commissioner was unreachable for comment.
