Chandigarh, January 6

A day after violence by some armed men at New Delhi’s JNU, some students here at Panjab University disrupted the address of Haryana Speaker Gian Chand Gupta, who alleged that it was “a predetermined act” by those trying to “break the country”.

Carrying banners, the students belonging to some Left-leaning student bodies, shouted slogans against the BJP, RSS and the ABVP when the Haryana speaker was addressing during a seminar on the topic, “Women’s Participation in Decision-Making”.

The protesting students were then taken out of the seminar hall by security personnel.

Later talking to the media, Haryana Assembly Speaker Gian Chand Gupta described the students’ protest “a predetermined act”.

He, however, said, “Everybody has the right to speak, but in a decent way.”

He said any effort to stop the seminar was not right.

“This was a predetermined act,” said Gupta.

To a question, Gupta said those trying to “break the country” organised this protest.

The chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Rekha Sharma, who also attended the seminar, said, “This is their wish. This is a free country. They (students) put forth their views.” Sharma said as far as the JNU violence was concerned, the Union home ministry had a taken cognisance of it.

“I will meet the girls injured in this incident,” she said.

Earlier speaking to reporters, one of the protesting students, Kanupriya, slammed the Centre for the violence on the JNU campus.

“The Vidhan Sabha speaker (during seminar) was saying that they want to promote beti padhao. Is this way they will teach girls,” she asked while protesting against violence at the JNU against women students.

Meanwhile, students owing allegiance to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP)— BJP’s student wing—also held a demonstration against against Left-leaning student bodies on the PU campus.

Heavy police force was deployed at the university to prevent any untoward incident.

At least 28 people were injured in violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night when masked men armed with sticks and rods attacked students and teachers besides damaging property. —PTI