Teachers and students of Aligarh Muslim University on Thursday slammed chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s comments as “unfounded”, a day after the BJP leader told the Uttar Pradesh Assembly that thousands from the varsity had set out to burn the city.
The AMU Teacher’s Association said it was “deeply shocked”, while a former president of the varsity’s student union condemned what he called a “false” statement.
Adityanath had told the House on Wednesday that 15,000 AMU students had wanted to destroy peace in Aligarh on December 15.
“I had alerted the Aligarh administration after the violence at Jamia Millia Islamia university (on December 15 in New Delhi). There were 15,000 students of AMU who took to the streets and wanted to burn Aligarh but their game plan was averted by an alert police,” Adityanath said.
The Congress and the Samajwadi Party had blamed the police for barging into the AMU campus and attacking students and the chief minister was responding to their allegation.
On Thursday, the AMU Teacher’s Association said in a statement: “AMUTU and AMU fraternity are deeply shocked by the statement of the CM. His statement is baseless and unfounded. The evidence submitted by the UP police in Allahabad High Court doesn’t substantiate the allegation of the CM.”
Najmul Islam, secretary, AMUTA, said: “We have written to governor Anandiben Patel to ask Assembly Speaker Hriday Narayan Dixit to expunge the words of Adityanath (from the records) against the students of AMU. The CM’s statement has dented the image of AMU, an institution of national importance. The CM is making concluding remarks on a matter sub judice with the HC.”
Salman Imtiaz, former AMU Student Union president, said: “We condemn the false statement of the UP CM. He is trying to cover up the terror committed by the state against the students on December 15. The students were organising peaceful protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act, National Register of Citizens and the National Population Register and the police attacked them, leaving many of them seriously injured. The police was violent.”
Maskoor Ahmad Usmani, another former AMU Student Union president and who faces sedition charges for raising anti-national slogans, said AMU and Aligarh had fought against British rule. “Now we are fighting against these brown Britishers who are trying to destroy India’s beauty as a harmonious country.”
Maskoor said Adityanath’s “actions and statements were anti-student, anti-youth and anti-national”.
“The entire country is witnessing anti-CAA protests but he ordered murder of 22 people in UP,” Maskoor added, referring to the deaths in police action of protesters in Uttar Pradesh.
“Adityanath is a conspirator and his police are rioters. They cannot escape merely by blaming the youths. I can say with confidence that we will dislodge these conspirators in our country soon,” Maskoor said.
Adityanath denies that anyone in Uttar Pradesh fell to police bullets. “Not even in one case has anyone died of police bullets,” he has said.
“The rioters died of bullets of rioters only,” he said, making a claim on a matter that is sub judice.
In Allahabad High Court, Adityanath’s government said in an affidavit earlier this week that 22 people were killed during the protests on December 19 and 20, but sought time to reply when it was asked how the deaths occurred.