The newly installed busts of Savarkar, Subhas Chandra Bose and Bhagat Singh in the Delhi University campus have sparked a new controversy when the members of the Congress-affiliated NSUI blackened Savarkar's bust and donned it with a garland made out of footwear. The busts were placed inside Delhi University without obtaining the necessary permissions from the administration. This move was criticised by the ABVP too, the student political organisation that dominates the DUSU.
A video that we had accessed shows NSUI's Delhi President Akshay Lakra blackening the face of Savarkar, while garlanding the busts of Bose and Bhagat Singh with flowers, on Thursday morning. The activists also raised slogans that translate to 'long live Bhagat Singh and Bose.'
Lakra, who was unhappy with the installation of the busts, was unapologetic about blackening Savarkar's face. "How dare they (DUSU) place Savarkar on the same pedestal as the other two revolutionaries? He (Savarkar) was against the Quit India movement and sympathised with the British. He is a traitor. He isn't a 'Veer' (hero) for me, but merely Vinayak Damodar Savarkar," he says.
He also says that the university administration was turning a blind eye towards the issue. "The DU administration doesn't seem to be bothered about the issue at all," he says. "At the same time, Shakti Singh, whose term as the DUSU president has gotten over is acting like a hooligan," says Lakra, adding that he's been receiving a lot of threats from the ABVP and the RSS since morning.
Shakti Singh, on the other hand, condemned the act. "Whatever has happened is very unfortunate. We will lodge a case against the NSUI soon," he says. Shakti is yet to receive the necessary permissions for the statue installation.
The rest of the ABVP is also up in arms against them, "This reflects the Congress' thinking of the great freedom fighter of India," said Monika Chaudhary, national media convenor, ABVP. "The ABVP will make students aware about this "negative mindset" of the NSUI and its parent organisation, she said. "In the context of this deplorable act, the ABVP urges the administration to take stern action against those involved in insulting the statue of freedom fighter," Chaudhary said.
