New Delhi: The Delhi Police have served notice to some leaders of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) in connection with protests held at the university campus on Monday night, hours after Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court, as reported by Republic TV.
BJP leaders, meanwhile, launched a sharp attack on Tuesday on Left-wing student organisations, accusing them of promoting “anti-India” ideology within university campuses.
The political row erupted after sloganeering was reported outside Sabarmati Hostel and at other locations on the campus, ABP Live English reported.
The demonstration near Sabarmati Hostel was not a spontaneous student protest but a deliberate attempt to push extremist narratives, BJP leader Pradeep Bhandari alleged.
He claimed that intellectual spaces like JNU were being misused to justify and amplify what he described as “anti-India thought,” warning that such activities posed a serious challenge to national unity.
The slogans allegedly targeted the central government and senior leaders, intensifying political scrutiny of campus activism at the university.
Delhi minister Ashish Sood reacted to slogans raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah, and said that similar incidents have happened in the past as well.
“Sharjeel Imam spoke about separating Northeast India. Umar Khalid raised slogans of ‘India will be broken into pieces,’ and his involvement was found in the 2020 riots. Such people are shown sympathy because there are people in this Assembly who shared a stage with Sharjeel Imam. When you give patronage to such people, irresponsible elements like this raise their heads in JNU, which I strongly condemn. What has happened in JNU, where Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have been supported in a way, is condemnable and against the nation,” Sood said as quoted by PTI.
Union minister Giriraj Singh also condemned the protests, accusing some of turning the campus into a den for anti-Indian activities.
“Some people have made JNU a den of the ‘tukde tukde’ gang. People like Rahul Gandhi, TMC, Communists are part of this gang… these people don’t believe in Supreme Court. Slogans being raised in favour of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam and against PM Modi, Amit Shah. Such people should be tried for treason. People who have a Pakistan mentality, those who talk about cutting of ‘chicken neck’… people of India will never tolerate these people.”
Aditi Mishra, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, explained that the annual protest held on campus is meant to condemn the violence that took place at JNU on January 5, 2020.
She emphasised that the slogans raised during the demonstration were rooted in ideology rather than aimed at individuals. Mishra clarified that none of the slogans were directed against any person, underscoring that the protest was focused on broader issues and principles.
According to reports, Left-wing student groups gathered at “Guerilla Dhaba” on campus, where anti-Modi and anti-government slogans were raised. Around 30 to 40 students affiliated with the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), Democratic Students’ Federation (DSF), and All India Students’ Association (AISA) were present.
