Left student organizations will hold a day-long protest against organisations affiliated to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, particularly its student wing the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), on Monday at Dadar (East) at 5 p.m. to condemn the violence against students in Delhi and at the Savitribai Phule Pune University.
Balaji Kaletwad, State Secretary of the Students Federation of India (SFI), said, “We will be protesting at universities and colleges against the ABVP’s hooliganism. We want emphasise our right to dissent policies that anti-student and highly communal.”
Mr. Kaletwad alleged that ABVP activists targeted SFI activists in Pune for putting up banners and posters against BJP MLC Prashant Paricharak, who made a derogatory remark about the spouses of army jawans. “Our activists were brutally beaten. Is this the definition of democracy according to the ABVP?” The SFI was in the news recently after Education Minister Vinod Tawde threatened its activists for sending him SMSs asking him to not close down the Polytechnic College in Solapur.
“Pune is not an isolated incident. Look at what happened in Delhi. We have to fight against these fascist forces using constitutional means,” said Preethy Sekhar, State president of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI).
Ms. Sekhar said, “These are attempts to undermine democracy by targeting Left and Ambedkarite movements. But we will resist.”
