The administration of Jawaharlal Nehru University on Tuesday wrote to the Delhi Police seeking the registration of a first information report after students allegedly shouted slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a protest held on campus, The Indian Express reported.

The protest on Monday had been organised by the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union to mark six years since a mob stormed the campus on January 5, 2020, leaving several students and teachers injured.

Videos of the alleged sloganeering during the protest had been circulated on social media.

In a letter to the Vasant Kunj (North) Police on Tuesday, the security department of the university said that a programme had been organised at about 10 pm a day earlier by students “associated with the JNUSU”.

The letter claimed that the gathering near the Sabarmati Hostel on campus initially appeared to commemorate the January 5, 2020, incident and about 30 to 35 students participated, The Telegraph reported.

However, the letter said that “the nature and tone of the gathering changed significantly” after the Supreme Court denied bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, who are accused of being part of an alleged larger conspiracy behind the 2020 Delhi riots.

Subsequently, some students “began raising highly objectionable, provocative, and inflammatory slogans”, it added.

“Such an act reflects a wilful disrespect for constitutional institutions and established norms of civil and democratic discourse,” The Telegraph quoted the letter as saying. “All stakeholders must understand the clear distinction between dissent, abuse and hate speech which leads to public disorder.”

The slogans were “clearly audible, deliberate and repeated”, the university administration said, adding that they reflected “intentional and conscious misconduct rather than any spontaneous or inadvertent expression”.

It further claimed that the actions were “in direct contempt of the Supreme Court” and violated the code of conduct of the university.

The letter also listed several students who were allegedly “identified during the programme”, including four members of the students’ union, The Indian Express reported.

In a separate statement on Tuesday, the Jawaharlal Nehru University administration said that it had taken “serious cognisance” of the videos being circulated of the protest organised near the Sabarmati Hostel, India Today reported.

“The raising of such slogans is wholly inconsistent with democratic dissent, violates the JNU code of conduct, and has the potential to seriously disturb public order, campus harmony, and the safety and security environment of the university and the nation,” India Today quoted the statement.

Aditi Mishra, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union, told PTI that students hold a protest every year to denounce the violence that took place on the campus on January 5, 2020.

“All of the slogans raised in the protest were ideological and do not attack anyone personally,” the news agency quoted her as saying. “They were not directed towards anyone.”

Incident triggers row

The incident has triggered a war of words between the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and the Opposition.

Union Minister Giriraj Singh told ANI that Jawaharlal Nehru University had become the “office of the ‘tukde tukde’ gang”, adding that those who harbour pro-Pakistan sentiments would not be tolerated in the country.

Leaders from the BJP and its affiliated organisations often accuse their opponents and dissidents of being members of a “tukde tukde” gang, or a group of persons trying to divide India.

Singh said that “people like [Congress leader] Rahul Gandhi, [Trinamool Congress] TMC, communists are part of this gang”, adding that these individuals “do not even believe in the Supreme Court”, India Today reported.

“Slogans are being raised against PM Modi, Amit Shah,” he said. “Such people should be tried for treason…The graves of enemies have been dug before, and they will be dug again.”

BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain also said that the slogans were shouted to vent frustration against the prime minister after Khalid and Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court, India Today reported.

Congress leader Rashid Alvi, however, suggested that those who shouted the slogans were associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and the BJP.

The RSS is the parent organisation of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party.

“Delhi Police has claimed that they had information on this, so why did they not make arrests before?” ANI quoted Alvi as saying. “I am confident that those who raised the slogans were associated with RSS and BJP... This is the same policy as Hitler had, which benefited him.”

Congress leader Udit Raj also claimed that the sloganeering was a way of expressing resentment, India Today reported.