Nagpur: Both the Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are optimistic about making Nagpur a smart city, however the students wing of their political affiliation BJP is certainly acting in contrast to their visions. In a run up to the students body elections at Nagpur University, slated for August this year, the young wing of BJP has gone a step too forward to show its presence in the poll fray.
BJP affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), probably the biggest violator among them, has defaced many buildings of Nagpur University in the process of promoting its membership drive. The ‘wall paintings’ with the message ‘Join ABVP’ can be seen in university premises at Civil Lines, Law College buildings, Amravati Road campus etc.
Ironically, the University Vice Chancellor Siddharth Vinayank Kane is just a mute spectator.
NCP’s student’s wing too has left its mark on a couple of NU buildings. Congress affiliated National Student’s Union of India (NSUI) has now threatened to deface the VC’s office after its repeated pleas to remove ABVP’s markings went unheeded.
ABVP graffiti is result of a carefully planned strategy. In September last year, one of ABVP’s branches had proposed the idea of having university walls painted. ABVP city president Sandip Randive while speaking to a local newspaper said the decision had been reconsidered but there were no plans to rectify the vandalism.
Randive said they had decided to paint the walls in September last year. “One of our local branches had suggested the move. It was for the membership promotion. But in Yojana Baithak in March, it was decided that the move was against the principles of clean city initiative,” he said. Randive said they cannot remove the graffiti as they are too many in number.
NSUI’s Ajith Singh said, “We have been constantly appealing to the VC to ban ABVP from the university premises and remove the graffiti. A couple of months have passed since the last time we requested him. The student elections would be held this year. If the VC failed to contain ABVP’s vandalism then we too would resort to same measure starting with Kane’s office.”
Singh added there were better ways of promoting the organization among students. He accused ABVP and NCP’s student wing of spoiling NU properties.
Dinesh Ilme of MNS’s student wing too slammed those resorting to such measures. “We have been promoting ourselves by reaching out to students and not painting the walls. It only gives public spaces an ugly look. We are helping students get admissions without donations, looking after needs of the poor ones. Graffiti is of no use.”
VC Kane was not available for the comment.
