Confusion prevailed on Saturday over the overnight removal of busts of Veer Savarkar, Bhagat Singh and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose from outside the Arts Faculty of Delhi University’s North Campus.
While the RSS-affiliated ABVP, in a statement, claimed it was removed by Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), the students’ outfit’s member and outgoing president Shakti Singh accused the university administration of removing the busts.
A senior functionary of ABVP, however, said the outfit wants that the busts should be installed with due permission and with pomp and show and not silently.
Mr. Singh, meanwhile, said, “Late last night, DU removed the idols installed by the students. This is obviously an insult to the martyrs and I am opposed to this. The DU administration is intent on killing the students’ union here.” He alleged that “some students” in collusion with the administration were behind this move and he will protest against this. “I wanted to resolve the issue through dialogue but the administration has not left the space for it,” he said.
The ABVP-led DUSU has removed the busts from the campus, the students’ outfit said in a statement on Saturday morning.
The ABVP, however, claimed the DU has assured them that the busts will be reinstalled after the DUSU polls are concluded on September 12.
The busts of the three freedom fighter were installed on August 20 by Mr. Singh without the permission from the university authorities. They were removed on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday.
“DUSU has removed the busts... till permission is obtained from the DU administration. The busts have been kept [at a] safe [place] by the university,” the RSS-affiliated outfit said in a statement.
The students’ body also demanded “stringent legal action” against members of the Congress-affiliated NSUI for allegedly blackening Savarkar’s bust on Thursday.
The ABVP claimed the left-affiliated student organisations, along with AAP’s CYSS and the NSUI had “stooped to a low level” and were harming the “the culture of debate and discussion, prevalent in the university”.
ABVP Delhi’s state secretary Sidharth Yadav said, “The university should restore these idols at the earliest.”
“The manner in which other students’ bodies have carried out such acts reveal their real and degraded mindset towards freedom fighters,” he added.
“At the same time, the Congress should understand that its ‘Kaalikh model’ is not going to hide the reality,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Congress-affiliated NSUI said its opposition has led to the removal of the busts.
The NSUI claimed the statues were removed after a representation was made by NSUI member and DUSU general secretary Aakash Choudhary to the administration for the same.
