Mumbai (The Hindu): Right-wing student organisation claims NSUI vandalised Matunga office at Rahul Gandhi’s behest. The office of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Matunga was on Saturday allegedly vandalised by a group of around six men, in which one of the members of the BJP-affiliated student union was injured, police said.

The incident comes in the wake of the alleged suicide by Rohith Vemula, a Dalit research scholar pursuing a PhD at Hyderabad Central University, who had earlier faced action by the varsity for allegedly assaulting an ABVP leader.

“A group of five to six persons entered the ABVP office in Matunga and damaged furniture,” police said.

ABVP state organising secretary (Konkan region), Yadunath Deshpande, said, “All karyakartas (workers) were inside the office when the attack took place. Six goons armed with hockey sticks and metal rods entered and started vandalising our office. They broke glass panes, furniture. One of our workers, Francis D’souza, was injured in the attack. He has received two stitches on his forehead and is currently in an unconscious state at Sion Hospital,” he added.

Ruling out the possibility of any Dalit organisation being behind the incident, Deshpande alleged the attack was done at the behest of Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi.

Congress blamed

“We condemn such attacks and appeal that ABVP is ready to discuss, through dialogue, if some organisations have any problem with us. All issues can be resolved through dialogue. This attack has been carried out by the NSUI at the behest of Rahul Gandhi, as he is only interested in taking political mileage from the suicide incident in Hyderabad,” he alleged.

Mr Deshpande said ABVP is already in positive dialogue with Dalit organisations, so they cannot be behind this attack. “There may be difference of opinions, but these are very wise organisations who would not resort to violence,” Mr Deshpande said.

He said the ABVP office in Bengaluru, too, was attacked and the miscreants were finally identified to be associated with the Congress-affiliated NSUI. “Attacks on our offices are becoming frequent as cheap politics is being played over the Dalit scholar’s death,” he added.

NSUI denies charge

Meanwhile, Suraj Thakur, former president of NSUI’s Maharashtra unit, said ABVP’s charge was ridiculous and that the organisation is only indulging in publicity stunts.

“NSUI believes in Mahatma Gandhi’s ideology and thus we never resort to violence. We believe in protests but in a peaceful manner. The ABVP’s charge is laughable and we are only being named as ABVP’s name has cropped up in Rohith Vemula suicide case,” he said. Police said no arrests have been made in this connection so far. —PTI

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