Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists disrupted the management council meeting of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Monday, demanding action against those involved in shooting a controversial rap song on the university premises.
The activists also sought resolutions for several pending issues, including delayed convocation, degree certificates for the 2022-23 batch, paper correction delays and mistakes, and the newly inaugurated sports stadium.
ABVP activists met Patil yesterday
The protest comes a day after ABVP Pune City Secretary, Shubhankar Bachal, met with the State Minister for Higher and Technical Education and Guardian Minister of Pune District, Chandrakant Dada Patil, to seek an investigation into the matter.
The row over rap song
An FIR was filed on April 14 against rapper Subham Jadhav for shooting the controversial song with abusive language inside the university premises. Senior Police Inspector Balaji Phandare said the police imposed sections of the Arms Act but did not find any weapons in the video.
Jadhav claimed to have verbal permission from the university registrar to shoot the song, stating that it would not have been possible to enter the premises without prior permission and extensive equipment. SPPU has since set up a high-level committee to investigate the incident.
Ajit Pawar's letter
On April 20, Maharashtra's leader of Opposition, Ajit Pawar, wrote to the Chief Minister and other officials demanding a probe and appropriate action against those involved in the shooting, calling the incident shocking and urging the administration to create guidelines to prevent similar occurrences.
Although ABVP denied vandalizing the university during their protest, the aftermath tells a different story. Broken glass was observed on the floor of the hall where the management council meeting was being held, which has garnered criticism towards the group's method of demonstration.
ABVP's way of protesting has drawn criticism from various quarters, with NCP MLA Rohit Pawar being among those who slammed the outfit for its unruly behaviour. The video of the incident, which went viral on social media, shows the activists shouting slogans and creating a ruckus during the management council meeting.
The students' wing of NCP also condemned the ABVP's actions, stating that such behaviour is unacceptable and goes against the principles of democratic protests. While the ABVP denied any involvement in vandalizing the university, the broken glass on the floor of the hall where the meeting was held suggests otherwise.
During a media interaction following the protest, Anil Thombare, a representative of ABVP, provided the reasoning behind their agitation and said, "We are ashamed that the Vice-Chancellor is sitting on the same chair today after allowing an obscene rap song to be shot on the university campus."
Thombare also expressed that it had tarnished the university's reputation.
