Rahul Gandhi mocks BJP over violence in BHU campus: ‘BJP version of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao in BHU’

According to the students, a first year boarder was allegedly touched inappropriately by three bike-borne men within the campus on Thursday. When the girl approached the warden and the chief proctor, the administration allegedly victim-shamed her.

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Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi (Source: PTI/File)

Reacting strongly against the clashes in the Banaras Hindu University campus, Congress vice president mocked the ruling BJP for the violence in the campus. Taking to Twitter, Gandhi said: “BJP version of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao in BHU.”

Violence broke out in the campus on Saturday night, after police resorted to lathicharge to remove the protesters from outside the vice-chancellor’s residence. Many students claimed that force was used against the girl students as well. “Boys were lathicharged but even girls were not spared. We were even given the choicest abuses,” a protesting student was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. The crackdown came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded his two-day visit to Varanasi.

Scores of students, especially boarders from BHU’s Triveni hostel, have been protesting since Friday against alleged victim shaming by the university administration. According to the students, a first year boarder was allegedly touched inappropriately by three bike-borne men within the campus on Thursday. They also said that the guards sitting there did not come forward to help the girl. When the girl approached the warden and the chief proctor, the administration allegedly victim-shamed her. “They asked her why she was out so late. They told students that the hostel curfew timings will be shifted from 7 pm to 6 pm,” said a student who did not want to be named.

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The incident sparked a furore in the campus. Many students staged a sit-in at the main gate demanding proper security measures in the campus. The other demands of the students include an unconditional apology from the university to the victim, gender sensitisation of all professors and office-bearers, installation of lights in dark patches on the campus, deployment of guards at regular intervals, and removal curfew timings for women hostellers.

Read | BHU protests on, molestation victim meets V-C, varsity blames ‘anti-national’ forces. Click here

The university, on the other hand, called the protest a work of “anti-national” and “anarchic” forces that are trying to mar BHU’s image. In a media release, the BHU administration stated, “This protest was completely political in nature because it was timed with the PM’s visit, with the intention of soiling the image of the university.” As the protests spiralled, the V-C Ganesh Tripathi met with two or three students to discuss the issue.

Heavy police force has been deployed at the campus to enusre law and justice. Varanasi Police said this was the first protest in the university in recent times.

BJP version of Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao in BHU https://t.co/2XWIG5CG2q

— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) September 24, 2017

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