Chandigarh: A controversy erupted at Panjab University after an Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh functionary was invited as the chief guest at a programme organised on Guru Tegh Bahadur.
Students associated with the SATH party staged a protest inside the university campus, raising slogans against the invitation and alleging that an RSS representative should not have been invited to an event related to Sikh history. The protest led to tense scenes on the campus.
Following the demonstration, the university administration informed Chandigarh Police. Police personnel from Sector 11 police station reached the spot and detained several protesting students.
During the operation, there were scuffles between police and the protesters. Some student leaders were seen being taken away by police personnel, while one student was reportedly dragged by the collar during the detention.
Members of the SATH party alleged that several students’ turbans tossed off during the scuffle and claimed that the kirpan of one student was taken by police.
Sukhman Singh, a member of the group, said the organisation had already announced a protest on March 9 as it opposed the invitation of an RSS functionary to a lecture on Sikh history. He said the university administration had been requested earlier not to invite an RSS representative as the chief guest.
According to the group, a letter had also been submitted to the vice-chancellor citing a 2004 hukamnama from Akal Takht, which described the RSS as anti-Sikh.
