Coaching centre tragedy: Don’t politicise protest, UPSC aspirants tell student unions
Anshita Mehra
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 1
The death of three Civil Services aspirants at Rau’s IAS Study Circle has exposed several fault lines within the student activism movement. The incident has not only led to grief and outrage, but has also stirred controversy over the role of student unions in the ongoing protests. Many aspirants have accused these unions of attempting to politicise the tragedy, leading to visible disunity among the protesters.
During a recent visit to the protest site in Old Rajinder Nagar, the fractures among the protesters became apparent. The aspirants struggled to agree on representatives for a delegation to meet the key authorities, including the Lieutenant-Governor, MCD Commissioner and MLA Durgesh Pathak.
Disagreements over representation highlighted the fractures within the protest movement, with accusations that some groups were using the tragedy for political gain.
Uzair, a protesting aspirant, voiced frustration with the intrusion of politics into their cause. “From day one, we’ve tried to keep politics out of the protest and focus on delivering justice for the three students who died,” he said. “But various student unions and activists are trying to hijack our protest for their own political reasons. We just want them to leave us alone,” he added.
With Delhi’s Assembly elections looming next year, the aspirants fear that both Left-wing and Right-wing-affiliated student unions are attempting to exploit the tragedy to influence the political landscape.
Gautam, another aspirant, noted, “Whenever a politician or authority figure visits the site, student activists from different factions start shouting ‘go back’. Left-affiliated students protested when the L-G came, while Right-wing students protested during visits by MLA Pathak, minister Atishi and Mayor Shelly Oberoi.”
In addition to these public protests, the aspirants have accused student unions of infiltrating their communication channels. Ankit, another aspirant, claimed, “Student union members have joined our WhatsApp group, and whenever we discuss the missing students or our demands, they start accusing various parties, distracting from the main cause.”
Student union representatives, however, have denied any attempts to hijack the protest and defended their involvement. Ashutosh Singh, national media convener of ABVP, stated, “There is no hijacking. We are there to stand in solidarity with the aspirants and amplify their voices. Our role is to support them and demand accountability from the authorities.”
Prasenjit, national general secretary of the All-India Students Association (AISA), said, “We stand with the aspirants, not in front of them. We haven’t come to give speeches, but to support their call for better regulations and accountability.”
He added, “Those accusing us of hijacking might have their own agendas, but our stance is clear — we want to ensure the authorities are held accountable, regardless of their political affiliations.”
Dhananjay, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU), acknowledged the political dimensions of the protest, but defended their involvement. “The tragedy is politically inclined due to the failures of the Delhi Government, L-G and the MCD. However, we are not siding with any political party. Our goal is to ensure all authorities involved take responsibility,” he said. “One of the deceased, Nevin, was a JNU student, which is why we organised a candle march at the university. We are not trying to hijack the protest; these are false claims. We are just standing with them.”
