Days after the student-led CJP protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar ended following the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, AISA national president and student leader Neha Bora has accused the BJP of attempting to give the movement a communal colour by selectively highlighting Muslim protesters on its official social media accounts.
Speaking to Alt News, Bora said the protest brought together people from different religions and communities, and that this unity was what the ruling party feared.
“That is precisely what the government fears because it thrives on divisive politics. They will stay in power only if Indians are divided. This protest was a big blow to them, not just because a cabinet minister resigned, but because it challenged the kind of politics they promote. In the students’ movement, we are all united,” she said.
BJP Reel Focused Only on Muslim Protesters
The controversy began after the official Instagram accounts of BJP Delhi and BJP Haryana shared a video montage showing only Muslim protesters participating in the demonstrations. The video carried the Hindi caption, “Arajkata failate huye ye chehere yaad rahenge” (These faces spreading anarchy will be remembered).
While the BJP Haryana account later removed the reel, BJP Delhi’s post remained online and had received over 865,000 views.
Critics argued that the selective portrayal ignored the participation of thousands of students and supporters from diverse backgrounds, creating the impression that Muslims alone were responsible for the protests.
‘Movement Is Being Reduced to a Communal Narrative’
Bora, a PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University and one of the faces of the protest, said such campaigns were not new.
“This is nothing new. BJP has been doing this for a long time by creating videos that portray Muslims as the reason for the country’s problems. They want to erase everyone else’s participation and reduce this movement to a communal narrative,” she said.
She added that the protest reflected the communal harmony on which modern India was built.”People from different faiths stood together throughout the movement. There were repeated attempts to break that unity and push the movement into the comfort zone of communal politics, but those attempts failed,” Bora said.
Links Drawn With Bengal Crackdown
Bora also referred to the arrest of people following violence after a CJP solidarity march in Kolkata, claiming that 15 of the 16 arrested were Muslims.
“The student movement remains united, whether it is in solidarity with Junaid or with the 16 people arrested in Bengal, 15 of whom are Muslims. BJP is trying to project that only Muslims participated in the protests while everyone else stayed away. This kind of narrative-building is not new. Earlier too, Muslims were blamed for unemployment before elections. This protest video is another example,” she said.
Her remarks came amid allegations that leaders in West Bengal had also attempted to communalise the violence following the July 24 rally by referring to the accused with terms such as “Islamists” and “Friday people.”
Background of the Protest
The CJP-led protest at Jantar Mantar continued for 49 days and gained nationwide attention after climate activist Sonam Wangchuk was removed from the protest site and taken to hospital on July 18. The movement intensified following the July 20 “Chalo Sansad” march, during which protesters alleged police used excessive force.
The agitation ended after Dharmendra Pradhan resigned as Union Education Minister. However, Bora said the movement was about more than the resignation of one minister.
“Another Pradhan will simply replace this one. This is not about the resignation of an individual; it is about the government’s arrogance. We want this movement to be remembered as the one that started a series of resignations,” she had earlier said.
