JNUSU polls: Top ABVP candidate is a Muslim

“I am very influenced by Modi. Woh Bharat rashtra ka nirman karenge. The outcome of the Lok Sabha elections tell us that people want change. The atmosphere in JNU reflects the same,” he says.

In 2011, Dewan came to JNU from Barpeta, Assam — a district next to riot-hit Kokrajhar — in order to pursue an MPhil at the School of Languages. “We say that the BJP is communal. Where was the BJP in Assam when the riots hit us? Tarun Gogoi was the Assam Chief Minister then and a member of the Congress which is considered to be secular,” he says.

At a time when the role of political parties in riots have been questioned, Dewan feels that the discourse should move beyond communal lines. “Instead of identifying individuals and communities on the basis of religious lines, we need to focus on a bigger identity which is that of the nation. We are not Hindus or Muslims, we have to look at ourselves as Indians. It is these ill-conceived notions of left organisations which does not let BJP promote its national character,” he says.

Students brave pepper spray to attend debate

New Delhi: As presidential candidates for Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) polls took to stage on Wednesday night, the outcome of the Lok Sabha polls, Kashmir floods and the harassment allegations against a former JNUSU president and joint secretary formed the centre of the discourse, which went on till early Thursday morning.

Braving the use of pepper spray and chilli powder, purportedly to disrupt the proceedings of the presidential debate, hundreds of students gathered at Jhelum Lawns to listen and pose questions to the seven candidates.

Minor scuffles among supporters of different students’ organisations broke out even as the election officials asked students throwing chilli powder and using pepper spray to leave the venue.

With the former JNUSU president and joint secretary — both members of the All India Students Association — resigning after the filing of a harassment case against them in the university’s Gender Sensitisation Committee against Sexual Harassment in July, the incident was raised several times during the debate.  ENS