Lucknow: Tension continued at Lucknow University for the third day on Tuesday when students owing allegiance to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) groups tried to recite Hanuman Chalisa outside the historic Lal Baradari on the campus, sprinkled Gangajal to purify the place, and raised religious slogans.The action of ABVP members was in retaliation to the namaz offered by some Muslim students outside the Baradari on Sunday when they found that the entrance to the mosque inside the 200-year-old Nawabi era monument had been sealed by the LU on grounds that the building poses risk because of its dilapidated condition.Police and proctorial board members stopped ABVP students. They were detained by police but later released.Student leaders, Saurabh Singh Bajrangi and Shashi Prakash, claimed that Lal Baradari housed a canteen, bank, and community hall rather than a place of worship.“If Muslim students were allowed to offer namaz, what is the problem with reciting Hanuman Chalisa,?” they asked.The Muslim students were supported by students affiliated to the Samajwadi Chhatra Sabha, National Students’ Union of India, and the All India Students’ Association. They demanded that the mosque entrance should be opened or a separate place be allotted to Muslim students for offering namaz and roza iftari during the ongoing Ramzan.These student bodies also staged demonstrations on Monday outside Baradari. They were confronted by right wing groups leading to tension. Police intervention brought the situation under control.Later, some of the students who offered namaz on Sunday and others who supported them were challaned by police on grounds that their action could have disturbed law and order. LU spokesperson Mukul Srivastava said some of the students, who protested against closure of the Baradari entrance, also indulged in vandalism, for which they have been issued showcause notices.“We have also sought police help in restricting entry of six former students involved in the incident,” he added.
