Naidu blames 'divisive' Cong, Left

Information and Broadcasting Minister Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said the Congress and Left parties were creating “divisive atmosphere” on campuses.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took out marches in Delhi University, demanding action against students who raised ‘Azadi’ slogans for “Kashmir and Bastar” recently.

Hundreds of students joined marches amid heavy police deployment in the city, chanting slogans like ‘Bharat mein rehna hai toh, Vande Mataram kehna hoga’ (chant Vande Mataram to live in India) and ‘Na Marxvaad, Na Naxalvaad, Sabse Upar Rashtravaad’ (neither Marxism nor Naxalism,  above all is nationalism).

“What happened in JNU, Jadavpur University and Ramjas college? Some people are raising anti-India slogans, the issue of separatism, independence to Kashmir. You (students) want to celebrate such people who carried out attack on Parliament. What does it mean?” Naidu told a television channel. “Such sloganeering” by some students was “vitiating” the atmosphere in the universities, he added.

“It’s all being done by the outsiders. People who have lost the elections are now trying to fight an ideological battle using the campuses. This is not acceptable to the country. Unity and integrity of this country is paramount to this government,” Naidu said, categorically blaming the Congress and the Left parties for the prevailing situation.

The ABVP’s ‘save DU’ march comes after news channels on Wednesday aired a video footage showing students raising “Azadi” slogans for “Kashmir and Bastar” during a protest at Delhi University’s Ramjas College last week with a disclaimer that the authenticity of the video clip was not confirmed.