Outsider involvement suspected behind scribbling of anti-Brahmin slogans: JNU VC Santishree D Pandit
New Delhi, (PTI): Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) VC Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit on Monday said "outsiders" might be involved in the scribbling of anti-Brahmin slogans on several walls inside the campus and that further inquiry into the matter was underway.
Speaking to PTI, the vice chancellor asserted JNU is a place for everyone and nobody can use it to spread hatred against any group.
Earlier this month, the walls of Jawaharlal Nehru University's School of International Studies (SIS)- II building were defaced with graffiti asking members of Brahmin and Baniya communities to leave the campus and the country.
In the first interaction with the media over the matter, the vice chancellor termed the incident unfortunate, adding that the walls were white-washed within 24 hours.
"The incident that took place of the defacement of our walls in the School of International Studies was very unfortunate and an enquiry is underway. Immediately the walls were whitewashed and cleaned within 24 hours," she said.
"It has come to our knowledge that outsiders might have come and done this. We are thinking of how we can take precautionary measures so that such incidents do not take place in future," she added.
After the incident, JNU asked all its centres to install CCTV cameras. In an advisory, the university administration said it has notified that all schools and centres will have only a single entry and exit point.
The VC contended: "JNU is a place for everyone and nobody can use JNU to spread hate and discriminate against any group." PTI VA SLB
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Kejriwal resorting to 'vendetta politics', says BJP after MP Sandeep Pathak booked
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Saturday accused Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of vendetta politics after Punjab Police booked Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently defected to the BJP.
In an X post, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Kejriwal is misusing the Punjab Police to settle political scores, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has become a party to it.
"Two FIRs have been filed against Sandeep Pathak, who until recently was in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary (organisation). What is baffling is the shameless, brazen vendetta politics being pursued by Arvind Kejriwal, with Bhagwant Mann complicit in it," Poonawalla said.
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"It is clear this has been done out of vendetta politics by Kejriwal, who is extremely vengeful and vindictive, and misuses the Punjab Police to pursue such political vendetta," he alleged.
Questioning the timing of the FIRs, Poonawalla said, "If these cases existed from the beginning, why were FIRs not filed earlier? If he was corrupt, why was he kept in the party for so long, especially when he was the general secretary (organisation)? Has any new material surfaced in the last few days, or has the alleged corruption occurred only now?"
He alleged that Kejriwal has an "old habit" of targeting political opponents and dissenters.
"We have seen how he has used the police against rivals, including Congress leaders. This is his old habit," Poonawalla said, referring to the withdrawal of Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh's security.
Poonawalla claimed that several leaders who had left AAP over the years, including Yogendra Yadav, Mayank Gandhi, Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh and Alka Lamba, were "hounded".
He accused the party of failing to introspect.
"Instead of introspecting on how they have changed -- from Anna to Lalu, from Lokpal to corruption -- they are indulging in vendetta politics, trying to victimise people using the strong arm of the law. This reflects an Emergency-like mindset and a dictatorial, Hitlerian mindset," he said.
According to sources, two FIRs have been lodged against Pathak under non-bailable sections.
No further details about the FIRs have been disclosed yet.
On April 24, the AAP suffered a jolt when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs quit, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal's party has strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
Of the seven MPs -- who were Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal -- six were from Punjab.
Later, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan officially accepted their merger with the BJP, reducing AAP's strength in the Upper House to three.
