New Delhi, (The Telegraph): Three office-bearers of the ABVP at JNU quit today, citing the "oppression unleashed by the government".
In a joint resignation posted on Facebook, Pradeep Narwal, joint secretary of the Sangh student arm on the campus, Rahul Yadav and Ankit Hans also criticised HRD minister Smriti Irani over Rohith Vemula's suicide at University of Hyderabad.
"We can't be mouthpiece of such a govt. which has unleashed oppression on student community, legislators like OP Sharma, govt. which has legitimised the action of right wing fascist forces either in Patiala house court or in front of JNU north gate. Every day we see people assemble at front gate with Indian Flag to beat JNU student, well this is hooliganism not nationalism, you can't do anything in the name of nation, there is a difference between nationalism and hooliganism," the post on Narwal's Facebook page said.
Narwal, from Rohtak in Haryana, is the son of a CRPF officer who served in Kashmir - home to Afzal Guru whose execution a group at JNU was protesting last week.
Narwal slammed the anti-India slogans allegedly raised at the event but said he was quitting to protest the arrest of students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar on sedition charges.
"Today we all must stand together to save JNU which has given us identity, we need to come across party lines to save reputation of this institution to save future of JNUites as more than 80 per cent of the students don't belong to any political party. So let's unite to save this JNU culture (sic)," the post said.
The trio's phones were switched off after the post was http://canaranews.com/uploaded. The resignation was read out at a protest on the campus by students' union vice-president Shehla Rashid.
Some BJP leaders like Chandan Mitra and Subramanian Swamy have called for "closing down" JNU.
Student union joint secretary, the ABVP's Saurabh Sharma, alleged the three - all social science students - were under pressure from the JNUTA, the teachers' association.
