As the Delhi University’s student council elections start approaching, the theatrics have already began. Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has installed statues of freedom fighters namely, Veer Savarkar, Subhash Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh in the North Campus outside the Arts Faculty gate.The statue has been installed without taking any prior permission.
Opposition parties, namely Congress backed National Students Union of India (NSUI) and left-backed All India Student Association (AISA) have protested against the move as they believe Veer Savarkar cannot be put on the same pedestal as that of Bhagat Singh and Subhash Chandra Bose. They have added that if the statues are not removed within 24 hours, they will start a widespread protest because they believe move gives legitimacy to Veer Sarvakar’s ideology and actions which is not acceptable to both the groups.
While on the other hand, DUSU President Shakti Singh has said that they have approached the authorities time and again since November last year to get the permission for the installation, but they didn’t get any response and if the authorities will try to remove the statues, they will protest.
The land where the statues have been installed are under the North Delhi Municipal Corporation and Delhi University is yet to respond on the matter. Another reason cited by the parties behind the demand of removal of statue is that it is public land, not private property to install whatever they wish to.
