Vijayawada: Tension prevailed at a function hall when workers of BJP and Left parties clashed before a meeting of JNU students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar started in Vijayawada on Thursday evening.
The United Forum of Students Unions had organised the meeting for which Kanhaiya reached Vijayawada from Hyderabad.
Workers of BJP and its affiliate organisations reached the function hall ahead of Kanhaiya’s arrival and started shouting slogans against him.
“Kanhaiya go back,” they shouted even as AISF, CPI, CPM workers retaliated.
The BJP workers barged into the function hall to prevent the JNU student leader from addressing the meeting.
Police present in the venue prevented a clash between the BJP and the Left workers. Police took BJP state secretary Purnachandra Rao and BJYM leader C Rajinikanth and others into custody.
Kanhaiya flew to Vijayawada airport from Hyderabad and was driven to the city, 20 km away, amid tight police security.
Police sources said no permission had been given for Kanhaiya’s meeting.
“Since it is being held in a private place, we did not issue any permission. But given the events in Hyderabad Central University and later at another meeting in Hyderabad, we have kept a close watch on the meeting here and posted adequate security,” a senior police officer said.
The meeting was supposed to be organised in a private college but due to protests from different quarters the college management reportedly asked the organisers to shift the venue.
