On Monday, tension escalated between student groups between members of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena (MNVS) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) after posters demanding a boycott of MNVS, National Students Union of India (NSUI), and Ambedkarite Students Association (ASA) appeared on walls near Nowrosjee Wadia College in Sangamwadi.
What is the incident?
The workers of the MNVS allegedly stormed into the ABVP office and locked its gate. The MNVS members reportedly asked those inside to leave before putting a padlock on the entrance. After this police registered a case against MNVS workers at the Faraskhana Police Station in connection with the incident.
The poster due to which the whole fight started, "Enough is Enough. Wadia deserves better. Boycott NSUI (National Students Union of India), MNVS (Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena), ASA (Ambedkarite Students Association). Wadia will now come under the jurisdiction of ABVP. Let’s make Wadia better. #JoinABVP.”
Following the alleged attack on ABVP office members, students from various colleges staged a protest today against the members of the MNVS.
The protests were carried out at various colleges, including Fergusson, Wadia, BMCC, Modern, Moze, and Savitribai Phule Pune University, where students condemned the act and described it as a cowardly act.
Radhey Bahegavankar, ABVP’s Pune Metropolitan head, said, “The MNVS members tried to create chaos over a poster put up by an unknown person outside Wadia College, and in the process, they targeted the ABVP Pune Metropolitan office. Such hooliganism only shows a desperate attempt to stay relevant.”
“ABVP has always stood up for students and their issues, and we won’t stay quiet if anyone tries to intimidate our members," added Bahegavankar.
The students present at the protest demanded that the police take strict action against those responsible for the attack.
