Arjun Singh

NEW DELHI: Union Human Resource Development Minister Arjun Singh faced the wrath of a group of anti-reservation students at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) here on Saturday when they raised slogans against him. A number of students belonging to the Youth For Equality (YFE) forum began protesting when Mr. Singh came on the dais to begin his address at a seminar held in the School of Social Sciences on the campus.

The students raised slogans and displayed black flags at the Minister accusing him of dividing the country on caste lines though his reservation policy. They refused to let him speak at the seminar held on "Completion of 150 years of First Freedom Struggle of 1857." The high drama went on for a few minutes before Vice-Chancellor B.B. Bhattacharya appealed to the agitating students who were soon whisked out of the auditorium. They continued their demonstration outside by carrying placards and indulging in sloganeering.

"We let the other guests like our Vice-Chancellor and actor Farukh Sheikh speak. But we were strictly against Arjun Singh addressing the gathering. Despite the Supreme Court's decision to stay the order on reservation, he still wants to go ahead with its implementation. He just wants to divide the country," said YFE representative Sudhanshu Shukla on Saturday.

However, after initial hiccups, Mr. Singh continued with his speech and the rest of the programme proceeded as per the schedule.

Prof. Bhattacharya said: "The Minister spoke at length. In my speech I mentioned about the need for a proper auditorium for the JNU. He took a special interest in that and said he would look into the matter. He also said that he was accustomed to such slogan-shouting."

Asked if he would take any action against the agitating students, the Vice-Chancellor said an on-the-spot report was being made on the issue.

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