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ABVP, AISA activists clash outside Delhi's Ramjas College over invite to JNU's Umar Khalid

Kashmir Times. Dated: 2/23/2017 1:56:12 PM

New Delhi Feb 22 (Agencies): A clash broke out between the activists of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and All India Students' Association (AISA) outside a college of the Delhi University on Wednesday over the cancellation of the participation of Jawaharlal Nehru University students - Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid - at a seminar as speakers.
The protesters also reportedly clashed with police personnel deployed at the scene. As per NDTV, more than 20 students have reportedly been injured in the clashes.
Delhi University's Ramjas college had on Tuesday cancelled an invitation to Khalid and Rashid to address a seminar following violent protests from ABVP and members of the Delhi University Students Union.
While Khalid was among the students charged with sedition in connection with an event at JNU last year where anti-national slogans were allegedly raised, Shehla Rashid, a former JNU students union member, was instrumental in the movement against the students' arrest.
Khalid was supposed to speak on 'The War in Adivasi areas', which happens to be his PhD subject as well, on Tuesday, while Shehla's session was scheduled on Wednesday.
The protests began this afternoon by students angry with the college for allegedly cancelling the invite to Umar Khalid.
On Tuesday, DUSU and ABVP members had gathered outside the college and shouted slogans demanding that the invite to the "anti-nationals" be cancelled.
Organisers of the seminar claimed that the ABVP members "pelted stones, locked the seminar room and cut the electricity supply", a charge denied by the ABVP. "While the seminar will continue we decided to cancel participation of these two students. It is not that we do not advocate freedom of speech but it had to be done keeping peace and harmony of campus in mind," Ramjas principal Rajendar Prasad said.
The principal, however, did not comment on the allegations of lockdown and stone pelting.
Police officials claimed that they were present on campus and there was no violence.
DUSU president Amit Tanwar claimed that they raised slogans objecting to the two students' presence on campus but the protest was not violent.