In the aftermath of the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), a video clip of a discussion on the news channel Times Now has gone viral, featuring an ABVP member saying that people were wielding sticks in “self-defence" on the day when violence took place at the varsity.
Speaking about the events of Sunday, 5 January, at JNU, ABVP Delhi State Joint Secretary Anima Sonkar said during the panel discussion, "In all the WhatsApp groups, so much panic was spread, so much threatened calls were given that whenever you are stepping out, step out in groups, step out while you have rods... whatever you get handy, pepper spray, somebody has acid. I have not even heard or seen any case of acid attack or something... [sic]"
When questioned by the anchor as to why two people – purported to be from ABVP – were pictured holding sticks – Sonkar replied saying that "it's self-defence".
However, she later sought to clarify, refusing to identify the picture in question and saying that she merely accepted that a man named Vikas Patel is an ABVP activist.
“...Everyone was asked to be armed... Every WhatsApp group said that you should be armed before you step out... It’s everyone’s WhatsApp group.”Anima Sonkar, ABVP member
‘Establishes that JNU Violence is State-Sponsored Hooliganism’
The video was widely shared on Twitter, with the Congress-affiliated National Students' Union of India (NSUI) 'thanking' Sonkar for "publicly accepting that goons behind the JNU attack were from ABVP, which establishes that JNU violence is a state-sponsored hooliganism."
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