Controversial Slogans Raised at JNU Against Modi, Shah; Varsity Seeks FIR; BJP Condemns Act

PTI, NEW DELHI, JAN 6, 2026 : A protest at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) sparked controversy after objectionable slogans targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were allegedly raised following the denial of bail by the Supreme Court to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case. The incident prompted the university administration to seek the filing of an FIR.

A letter written by the JNU administration to the Delhi Police claimed that certain students raised "highly objectionable, provocative, and inflammatory" slogans at an event on Monday, which were in direct contempt of the Supreme Court and reflected "wilful disrespect for constitutional institutions and established norms of civil and democratic discourse." The university also ordered an internal inquiry, while BJP leaders, including Union and Delhi ministers, expressed anger over the incident, alleging that the slogans reflected an "Urban Naxal mindset" supported by Rahul Gandhi and the Congress.

The event, titled "A Night of Resistance with Guerrilla Dhaba," was organised at Sabarmati Dhaba to mark the anniversary of the January 5, 2020, violence in which a group of masked persons had entered the campus and unleashed mayhem by attacking students and teachers. A purported video of the Monday protest showed students allegedly raising slogans against the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister after the Supreme Court refused to grant bail to Khalid, a former JNU student leader, and Imam in the 2020 Delhi riots conspiracy case.

The university has named several students, including current Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) president Aditi Mishra, and said they were identified during the programme. It claimed that the slogans were "deliberate," "repeated," and had the "potential to seriously disrupt public order, campus harmony, and security."

Mishra said that every year, students hold a protest to condemn the violence that occurred on the campus on January 5, 2020. "All of the slogans raised in the protest were ideological and do not attack anyone personally. They were not directed towards anyone," she claimed.

According to the letter addressed to the SHO of Vasant Kunj (North), the university's Security Department said the programme was organised around 10 pm by students linked to the JNUSU. The gathering initially appeared limited to commemorating the January 5, 2020, incident, with around 30 to 35 students present. The letter said that the nature of the event changed following a judicial verdict on the bail pleas of Khalid and Imam, after which some participants allegedly raised slogans, which the university termed "inflammatory and objectionable."