Mumbai: Thakur college, Kandivali has issued a statement regarding the session that took place at the college premises yesterday on March 22, wherein students were forced into attending a seminar organised by the college for BJP member Dhruv Goyal, son of Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
The video of the seminar which has gone viral and has been picked up by various political parties shows students protesting against being forced to attend the seminar.
Students who spoke on the condition of anonymity told the Free Press Journal yesterday that the teachers confiscated all students' ID cards while they were appearing their examination for the BMM paper. Just a few minutes after their exams was over, they were forced to attend the seminar at the same complex, concurrently every exists were were closed so that students couldn’t get away.
While students were kept in the dark about what they were to expect at the seminar, they were surprised that it was called by the BJP member to discuss election issues and talk about the political party.
Students voiced their protest at the seminar and the viral video shows the students discussing the same with Dhruv Goyal. The video also shows Dhruv Goyal patiently listening to the students and voicing his opinions.
The Free Press Journal was the first and the only newspaper to get this story and post the publication on its newspaper and online; it has since been taken up by a number of media outlets and political parties that are questioning methods of forcing students to attend such seminars.
It is widely known that many political parties forcibly ask people to attend their political rallies with a promise of something monetary in return but an action like this where students were forced to attend the seminar and have their IDs confiscated is almost the first of its kind and unprecedented.
The press release from the college states such "We have been made aware of the situation involving Ms. Priyanka Chaturvedi, who has disseminated a manipulated video pertaining to this interaction, seemingly with political intentions." The college claims it has led to an unwarranted controversy, overshadowing a successful event.
"Furthermore we wish to clarify that during the post event interaction a query was raised by a student on a topic that Mr. Dhruv Goyal was not previously acquainted. This matter is currently under review by our institution. It is our belief that educational settings should remain apolitical, focused on the enrichment and empowerment of our students rather than becoming arenas for political conventions," read the notice further.
'Shame on the college'
Responding to the allegations, Ms. Priyanka Chaturvedi, the Deputy Leader and Spokesperson of Shiv Sena, issued a statement on her Instagram account, saying, "Shame on the college which first gives platform to a politically affiliated person to create ‘voter awareness’. Makes the students compulsorily attend the event by taking their IDs away. Yet, Thakur College Principal and Management @tcscmumbai has the audacity to accuse me."
'Pushing political agendas through college students'
Pradeep Sawant, a former member of the Mumbai University senate from Yuva Sena (UBT), has also issued a statement accusing BJP of using wrong tactics to push political agendas through college students.
"It has been pointed out in Thakur College of Kandivali that the Bharatiya Janata Party is forcing college students in Mumbai to campaign for their Lok Sabha candidates through the back door by forcing them to sit in the hall of the college and campaigning for the candidate's son. As a former member of the senate, I had complained to the college administration and Mumbai University Hon'ble Vice-Chancellor, but today the same things have been repeated, especially when the code of conduct for the election is underway."
The event was organized because of a circular from the University Grants Commission (UGC), urging colleges to conduct awareness campaigns aimed at encouraging student participation in electoral processes under the banner 'Mera Pehla Vote Desh Ke Liye'.
