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

New Delhi: 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.

The two students were scheduled to take part in a session during a two-day seminar on "Culture of Protest" organised by Wordcraft, Ramjas college's Literary Society.

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.

 

"We were against invitation to anti-nationals for addressing a seminar and we shouted slogans demanding that the event be cancelled. However, there was no violence and it was a peaceful protest," he said.

Watch the video here:

#WATCH: Clash between AISA and ABVP students over cancellation of JNU student Umar Khalid's talk at Delhi's Ramjas College. pic.twitter.com/YD15j8dMWr — ANI (@ANI_news) February 22, 2017

Umar Khalid later alleged in a Facebook post, "I hear a mob of more than 100 ABVP pseudo-nationalists have gathered at the gates of Ramjas College with hockey sticks and stones threatening of large scale violence if an anti-national like me is allowed.”

"What is ABVP scared of? A discussion on war against adivasis?"

"Police tells the organisers that it will not protect me or them from any attack by ABVP and the organisers will be held responsible for any violence by ABVP. Such is the state of democracy in our country where attackers are given complete protection and those facing attacks are held responsible for the attacks on them," he alleged.