Violence broke out on the Aligarh Muslim University campus on Wednesday as the row over Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s portrait in the students' union office triggered a right-wing protest and clashes between students and protesters.
A function to grant life membership of the students' union to former vice-president Hamid Ansari, scheduled for Wednesday evening, was called off and he had to return to Delhi.
At least six persons were injured when the police lobbed tear-gas shells to disperse AMU students demanding the arrest of the protesters who allegedly barged into the campus and burnt effigies of Jinnah and the AMU students' union.
Eyewitnesses said activists from right-wing groups allegedly thrashed the security guards of AMU when they tried to prevent them from entering the campus. The university students alleged that many of them, including AMUSU president M.A. Usmani, were thrashed by the protesters during the clash. They also claimed that the protesters, after being initially detained, were allowed to leave the police station.
Security stepped up
Aligarh District Magistrate Chandra Bhushan Singh said that though two students were injured in the police action, the area remained clam and peaceful. He said two companies of Rapid Action Force have been deployed at AMU to ensure peace.
Earlier in the day, a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, Harnath Singh Yadav, demanded the expulsion of Uttar Pradesh Labour Minister Swami Prasad Maurya from the party for praising Jinnah, which the Minister denied he ever did. Media reports suggested that Mr. Maurya had called Jinnah a " mahapurush " from the time of undivided India.
He reportedly praised him when asked to comment on the row sparked by another BJP MP, Satish Gautam, who had objected to Jinnah’s portrait being displayed at AMU.
(With PTI inputs)
