New Delhi: Even though Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh expressed delight at his return to the university campus on Monday morning, the Jawaharlal Nehru University students' community played unwelcoming hosts.
Student representatives of All India Students' Association (AISA) and some other student bodies shouted slogans and displayed black flags to express their disapproval of Dr Singh's visit, which led to the delay of his speech by a few minutes.
Dr Singh ?who had served as an honorary professor at the University ? was on campus to unveil a statue of Pandit Nehru as part of the University's annual day celebrations.
A section of the radical left students protested against certain polices of the Congress-led Government at the Centre, which ranged from India's position on the Iran issue, the Indo-US military exercise to the patent bill.
A student of JNU, Aruni Sinha says, "It's not the first time that a visiting dignitary has had to face embarrassment at JNU. Earlier, President Abdul Kalam had faced similar protests when he visited the campus 6 months ago."
As Dr Singh continued speaking, a brawl broke out between the Leftist students and their anti-Left colleagues, mainly members of the NSUI and the JNU Patriotic Front. Three Leftist students were injured.
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It was only after Dr Singh had left the dais that policemen succeeded in hemming in the two warring factions.
Vanessa, a member of AISA said, "It is alright to stage a protest, but the kind of behaviour that the students displayed today has left most students and teachers infuriated."
Dr Singh, who was the first Prime Minister in 36 years to be visiting the campus, was a model of 'grace under pressure'.
Stressing on the need for a liberal thought process went well beyond the speech as he finished his speech in the midst of all the protest and even managed a smile at the end of it.
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