Congress MLA Amin Kagzi has written a letter to Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot demanding action against the vice-principal of the University of Rajasthan, Jaipur. The Congress MLA alleged that the vice-principal of the university stopped a Muslim student from offering namaz in an open space inside the institute premises on Friday, November 12.
The Kishanpole MLA of the Congress said in his letter that college vice-principal RN Sharma was behind the incident to stop the student from offering namaz in a corner of a parking lot and demanded appropriate action against him.
Meanwhile, BJP leader and former education minister Vasudev Devnani has taken strong objection to the letter written by the Congress MLA, alleging that he is “trying to spread religious enmity”.
“University syndicate member and MLA Amin Kagzi is making efforts to spread religious enmity over the namaz offering incident in the college,” Devnani said, adding that such actions pollute educational institutions with “fundamentalist thinking”.
“He should be suspended from the syndicate with immediate effect,” Devnani tweeted.
ABVP Students also objected to the letter written by the Congress MLA. Speaking to TOI, ABVP state secretary Hushyaar Meena said Amin Kagzi is attempting to cause chaos on campus by inciting conflict between two religious communities. Kagzi is a government employee and has no right to engage in such politics on campus, exclaimed Hushyaar Meena.
The row erupted at the government-led University of Rajasthan in Jaipur on Friday, November 12, after the college vice-principal allegedly took objections to a student offering Namaz in an open space on the campus premises. According to the initial information received, a student named Ibrahim was offering namaz when the vice-principal approached him and stopped him, telling him that offering namaz in such an open area was against the regulations.
The university, according to reports, has a separate prayer room. The student, however, opted to offer Namaz in an open area on the college campus, which the vice-principal objected to.
This incident led to the members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) coming face to face. More people were brought in, including some outsiders, resulting in a tussle between several members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) on the varsity campus.
While the NSUI, which is the student wing of the Indian National Congress expressed support for the Muslim students, the ABVP, the student’s body of the RSS was against the move.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists chanted the Hanuman Chalisa as a mark of protest after paying obeisance to tribal freedom fighter Birsa Munda on his birth anniversary on the campus on Monday. ABVP state secretary Hoshiyar Meena claimed that it was not only a college student but others who were also offering namaz on the campus, which cannot be “tolerated”. He said that they would not let the corridors of education get “tarnished”.
The members of the NSUI, on the other hand, created a ruckus, demanding the vice-principal be suspended. “The teacher who took objection is affiliated to the RSS. The student was offering namaz in an open ground. Harassing someone in the name of religion is wrong,” NSUI district president Rajesh Chaudhary said.
Amidst all this, the Gandhi Nagar police said that it has asked the vice-chancellor of the university to issue directions to its affiliated colleges to ensure such things do not occur on educational premises. “We have asked the Vice-Chancellor to issue directions to affiliated colleges that such activities do not occur on educational premises,” Gandhi Nagar SHO Nemi Chand said.