New Delhi: The Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, protested at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus. During the protest, they demanded that non-vegetarian food should not be allowed to cook in the mess of the campus during Ram Navmi.
In an allegation, the ABVP said the workers of the National Students Union of India (NSUI) stopped them from worshipping on Ram Navmi. They also alleged that the left-backed students supported the NSUI.
According to the ABVP JNU president Rohit Kumar, they could not begin the pooja till 5 pm due to protests.
Rohit added, ”Some students of left and NSUI were planning to disrupt the pooja since we put the Ram Navmi pooja on the campus. Today, the pooja was postponed till 5 pm from the scheduled time of 3 pm because some students started opposing the pooja at Kaveri gate.”
After the incident, the University issued a clarification and said students are free to have food of their choice. They can preach and wear whatever they want at the JNU campus. It added that there is no restriction over food/ clothing or any religious practices.
Notably, JNU Students Union (JNUSU) had protested earlier this week because of the unavailability of a specialist at JNU Health Care. Meanwhile, they also demanded to allow the opening of ‘dhabas’ till late night.