New Delhi: After the Ramayan controversy rocked Delhi University, the row over an allegedly offensive pamphlet on Mahisasura is refusing to die down at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

The All India Backward Students' Forum (AIBSF) is planning to hold a protest demonstration against the university administration which sent a show-cause notice to its president Jitendra Kumar Yadav for releasing the pamphlet.

The forum also alleged that the administration is planning to take action against Yadav to prevent him from contesting the university election.

According to the notice, Yadav had been found guilty of releasing an offensive poster depicting a deity in a derogatory manner that led to violent incidents.

Members of the AIBSF and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had clashed earlier this month over posters that were found hurtful by a section of the students.

The posters were circulated by students of the AIBSF based on an article in the Forward Press magazine about the "Dalit viewpoint on Durga-Mahishasura".

On Friday, Yadav along with some students met the university administration. "I read out the essay before the proctor and asked him about the objectionable points. I also told him that whatever has been written in the essay is fact and it was distributed during Durga Puja because of its relevance," Yadav said.

The notice was served after an internal inquiry on the incident of circulating a pamphlet "honouring" Mahisasura found the action hurting the sentiments of a certain section of the students.

Yadav said a fresh inquiry should be conducted in this regard, and the committee should have representatives of various students' forums including AIBSF, NSUI, AISA, SFI and UDSF.

The AIBSF also claimed that students affiliated to the ABVP had assaulted them.

"We were attacked by ABVP activists for circulating the poster. Earlier, the administration had set up an inquiry against the four students who had assaulted us. But, it took a U-turn and is now claiming that I am guilty. We have not insulted goddess Durga in any way and only stated that Mahisasura belongs to a backward community," Yadav added.

The Forward Press magazine defended its article "Kiski Puja Kar Rahe Hai Bahujan? " that was published in its October edition, saying allegations that it shows disregard to Durga were undesirable.

The magazine's editor Pramod Ranjan said in a press statement that the article emphasises on the evidences and new facts that prove India's oppressed Bahujan society's history, culture and tradition. The statement reads: "We, hence, condemn the violent incident that occurred in this context and consider it to be a forceful trial to hinder the propagation of knowledge. We also strongly condemn the act of alleging and punishing a student for distributing the copies of the above-mentioned article."

Source: www.indiatoday.in