New Delhi: A political controversy broke out at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus on Monday night when controversial slogans were allegedly raised against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during a protest held to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the 5 January, 2020 attack on the campus.
The incident took place on the same day when former JNU scholar Umar Khalid and activist Sharjeel Imam were denied bail by the Supreme Court. It snowballed into a political row Tuesday when purported videos of the protest circulated on social media, allegedly showing protesters raising slogans against Modi and Shah.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alleged that the slogans were raised in the backdrop of Khalid and Imam denying bail, the JNU Students Union (JNUSU) maintained that the protest was called to mark six years of the attack at the campus.
The 5 January 2020 attack saw a group of masked individuals enter the JNU campus and assault students and faculty members, leaving several injured. The incident occurred amid ongoing protests at the university over fee hikes and changes to admission policies.
The attack triggered widespread outrage, protests across the country, and sharp political reactions, with opposition parties accusing authorities of failing to ensure campus security. Later, the Delhi Police took up the investigation.
According to the JNUSU members and students at the campus, a protest call was given at ‘Guerilla Dhaba’ to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the attack, which coincidentally happened on the same day the Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the Delhi riots case.
However, students denied that the protest had anything to do with the Supreme Court decision. “The protest was to mark six years of injustice. The JNUSU will soon issue a statement on the matter. We cannot comment on anything shared on social media,” a union member said.
Former JNUSU joint secretary and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) member Vaibhav Meena issued a video statement, calling “grave digging” slogans against Modi and Shah “shameful”.
He alleged that JNUSU members were also present during the protest. “They raised slogans against the state and the supreme court… We demand an inquiry into the matter,” he said.
Meanwhile, the JNU security head on behalf of the administration filed a police complaint at the Vasant Kunj police station Tuesday about the incident.
According to the complaint, at the time of commencement, the gathering appeared to be limited to commemorating the said anniversary with the numbers pegged at 30-35. The complaint also named some students.
“During the course of the programme, subsequent to the judicial verdict on the bail pleas of Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam, the nature and tone of the gathering changed significantly. Certain students began raising highly objectionable, provocative, and inflammatory slogans. It is a direct contempt of the Honorable Supreme Court of India,” the complaint alleged.
The nature 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, it said.
“The slogans raised were clearly audible, deliberate, and repeated, thereby indicating intentional and conscious misconduct rather than any spontaneous or inadvertent expression. The act reflects a wilful disregard for institutional discipline, established norms of civil discourse, and the peaceful academic character of the University campus,” the complaint stated.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, JNUSU asserted that there has been an organized attempt to defame JNU and intensify the persecution of students.
“The JNUSU stands for peaceful and democratic modes of agitation. The vigil on 5 January 2026 was against the violence that the university community had suffered. Rather than focus on the real violence—brutal attacks on students by masked goons and the unjust incarceration of dissenting voices—there is an organised attempt to deflect and divert from these issues,” the student union said.
However, the statement did not mention anything about the slogans being allegedly raised and a police complaint filed by the administration.
Later in the evening, the JNU administration in a post on X “vowed the strictest action against students found raising objectionable slogans against Hon’ble Prime Minister and Hon’ble Home Minister”.
An FIR has already been lodged in the matter, it said, adding that while freedom of speech and expression is a fundamental right, “any form of violence, unlawful conduct or anti-national activity will not be tolerated under any circumstances”.
“Students involved in this incident will also face disciplinary measures including immediate suspension, expulsion and permanent debarment from the University,” it said.
Also Read: How SC relied on prosecution theory of ‘vertical chain of command’ to deny bail to Umar, Sharjeel
Charges & counter charges
Senior BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain said the group was venting their frustration on the PM, the Home Minister after Umar and Sharjeel were denied bail by the Supreme Court.
Khalid and Imam have been in pre-trial detention for over five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, in connection with the riots conspiracy case. Last month, Khalid was granted 14-day interim bail to attend his sister’s wedding, after which he returned to Tihar jail on 29 December.
#WATCH | Pune | On the reported sloganeering against PM Modi and Union HM Amit Shah in JNU campus yesterday, Union Minister Giriraj Singh says, "JNU has become the office of the 'Tukde-Tukde Gang' and people with anti-national mindsets like Rahul Gandhi, whether they belong to… pic.twitter.com/bLJuZR6UoJ
— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2026
Union Minister Giriraj Singh put the blame on the Opposition, alleging some people have made JNU a den of ‘Tukde Tukde’ gang.
“People like Rahul Gandhi, TMC, Communists are part of this gang… these people don’t even believe in the Supreme Court. Slogans being raised in favour of Khalid and Sharjeel Imam and in against PM Modi, Amit Shah. Such people should be tried for treason,” he told the media.
“People who have a Pakistan mentality, those who talk about cutting off ‘Chicken neck’ … People of India will never tolerate them.”
Similarly, BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said the slogans chanted in JNU indicate that these individuals are part of an “anti-national, urban Naxal gang” seeking to divide the country.
“Ever since the Supreme Court’s verdict against Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid, this ‘Tukde Tukde ecosystem’ has been in turmoil… These actions reflect an unconstitutional, anti-national mindset…”
The BJP, according to Congress MP Imran Masood, themselves were behind the sloganeering. “Yeh log apne aap naare lagwaate hai,” he said, making the charge against the ruling party.
“They should look at what is happening in Bangladesh where people are being killed, and our government has not been able to even comment on it. Our country has never witnessed such weak leadership.”
Many in the Opposition had shared the stage with Imam, Delhi Minister Ashish Sood asserted.
“Sharjeel Imam spoke about separating Northeast India. Umar Khalid raised slogans of ‘India will be broken into pieces,’ and his involvement was found in the 2020 riots. Such people are shown sympathy because there are people in this Assembly who shared a stage with Sharjeel Imam,” he said.
“When you give patronage to such people, irresponsible elements like this raise their heads in JNU, which I strongly condemn. What has happened in JNU, where Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid have been supported in a way, is condemnable and against the nation.”
Sood’s colleague Kapil Mishra said those making “vulgar slogans in support of Naxalites, terrorists, and rioters at JNU are feeling desperate because Naxalites are being eliminated, terrorists are being dealt with, and the courts have identified the rioters and those who conspired against Delhi, Supreme Court has announced its verdict on it, so this is just their frustration.”
Incidentally, Mishra courted controversy over his fiery speech in 2020 that was said to have triggered the riots in northeast Delhi. Back then, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress had gone out all against him.
Another Delhi minister, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, slammed the JNU protest, saying that “abusive language against the country’s PM and Home Minister is shameful”.
This is an updated version of the report
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: BJP sees ‘lesson’ for Oppn in SC’s denial of bail to Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam in Delhi riots case