Mangaluru: “Forming a youth or student wing of any political party inside the university should be banned as it ruins the academic performance of the students,” opined columnist Anand Ranganathan and BJP MP Tejaswi Surya on Saturday, November 30.
Both of them were addressing the gathering at a session titled “JNU: What is Right in the Left?” which was organised on the final day of ‘Lit Fest’ at TMA Pai International Convention Centre. Ranganathan said, “If the political parties are allowed to form youth or student wings inside the universities, then they will be more interested in political activities and least bothered in their studies. This would cause a negative impact on their academic performance.”
Though Surya agreed with Ranganathan’s view, he said that the Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was not affiliated to any political party including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). “ABVP is neither the student nor the youth wing of BJP. ABVP was formed based on the ideas and idealisms of Rashtriya Swayam Sevak Sangh (RSS), and it is not associated with the BJP. There are several examples of ABVP’s protest against the plans of the BJP government. When I was studying in college, I had indulged in several such protests against the BJP government,” he said.
However, Ranganathan disputed Surya’s view and claimed that the ABVP had been identifying with the BJP despite its denial “If political parties form student wings inside universities, the primary motive of the education system will collapse,” he stressed.
Referring to the recent protests staged by students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Surya said that although JNU students had conducted such protests in the past, this protest was not being staged on any precise subject other than to condemn the BJP-led government. “As the government is spending a huge amount of money on JNU students, they should understand that before staging protests. They should be aware that the government’s money is the money of the tax-paying citizens of our country,” he said.
Abhinav was the moderator of the session.
