'Will not succeed': BJP's Giriraj Singh slams 'tukde-tukde gang' over 'anti-Brahmin' slogans on JNU walls

Some of the slogans on the JNU's walls read "Brahmins leave the campus", "There will be blood", "Brahmin Bharat chhodo" and "Brahmino-Baniyas, we are coming for you! We will avenge".

New Delhi: Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Giriraj Singh on Friday (December 2, 2022) slammed the "tukde-tukde gang" after some walls on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus were defaced with anti-Brahmin slogans.

"JNU is becoming a centre for political parties that run the 'tukde-tukde' gang. Today, an alliance of this 'tukde-tukde' gang and 'Ghazwa-e-Hind' is being run in the country, trying to break the nation. But they will not succeed," Singh was quoted as saying by the news agency ANI.

His remarks came after walls in JNU's School of International Studies (SIS)- II were spray-painted with slogans asking members of Brahmin and Baniya communities to leave the campus and the country.

Some of the slogans on the walls read "Brahmins leave the campus", "There will be blood", "Brahmin Bharat chhodo" and "Brahmino-Baniyas, we are coming for you! We will avenge".

Meanwhile, JNU Vice-Chancellor Santishree D Pandit visited the building whose walls were spray-painted and took stock of the situation.

She called an emergency meeting during which several measures were discussed to improve security on the campus.

V-C Pandit also interacted with the students, staff and faculty members and asked them to be vigilant so that such incidents can be prevented in future, JNU Registrar Ravikesh said in a statement.

On Thursday, she had instructed the dean of the School of International Studies and the Grievances Committee to inquire into the incident and submit a report at the earliest.

The university also issued a six-point advisory on Friday in view of the prevailing security issues on the campus, according to the administration.

"All schools/centres should have single entry/exit point. Maintaining entry/exit register at the entry point of the schools/centres. Installation of CCTV cameras at each floor of the schools/centres building," the advisory said.

It also asked authorities to ensure adequate lighting in corridors.

It said an orientation programme should be conducted to sensitise the JNU community from time to time.

Teacher and student bodies also urged the JNU administration to conduct a free and fair inquiry to ensure peace on the campus.

'Violates spirit of diversity': JNU teachers' body on anti-Brahmin slogans

Meanwhile, the JNU Teachers' Association (JNUTA) condemned the incident and said it violates the spirit of diversity and tolerance of all views, which is the core ethos of JNU.

The teachers' body asked the university administration to immediately launch a probe into the incident, identify the culprits and proceed against them according to university rules.

Denouncing the vandalisation, the JNU Students' Union (JNUSU) claimed this is not the first time that such a thing has happened in the university.

"Such statements are clearly meant to disturb the normalcy of the campus by vitiating the campus environment. This is not the first time that such vandalism has occurred within the university. Several instances have happened during previous years," it said in a statement.

The JNUSU alleged that right-wing forces have "tried historically to caricature claims to social justice in such a deplorable manner".

RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad held the Left responsible for the incident.

(With agency inputs)