Indian Student Dubbed 'Fascist' At Top London University, Says 'Cancelled' For Supporting BJP
An Indian student studying at the London School of Economics alleged a hate campaign against him during college elections, for supporting Modi government and speaking against terrorism.
An Indian student named Satyam Surana, pursuing an LLM at the London School of Economics, United Kingdom, alleged that hate and smear campaigns were being carried out against him during the student union elections at LSE this year. In his social media post, he stated that he was slurred and cancelled for supporting PM Modi, BJP, India, and speaking out against terorrism. Earlier, he was in the limelight for picking up the Indian flag from road, defying the attack at the Indian High Commission by extremist elements last year.
Surana alleged that a very 'well-planned' campaign was being run against him which was launched just 12 hours before the voting. This campaign called him a 'fascist,' linked him with the Bharatiya Janata Party, and also asked people to boycott him and his campaign for the general secretary post.
#WATCH | An Indian Student at the London School of Economics, Satyam Surana who came to the limelight when he picked up the tricolour from the road, defying the attack at the Indian High Commission in the United Kingdom by extremist elements last year, now alleges hate campaigns… pic.twitter.com/aXsVC2PIWD
— ANI (@ANI) March 27, 2024
Called 'Fascist' for Supporting Modi Government
He felt something was wrong when he noticed that his posters were ripped off and torn. Elaborating on the timeline of incidents he stated: "LSE elections were declared in February and early March and he filed the nomination for the post of general secretary. From 14-15th of March, we noticed that my posters were being ripped off, and torn. We complained to the authorities. After we replaced our posters, on the 16th, we saw that some posters were defaced. There were crosses on my face, it was written 'anyone but Satyam'. I was cancelled out," the Indian student stated.
He also stated that there were messages in all the groups of LSE including the Indian groups and law school groups, claiming: "This Satyam Surana is a BJP supporter, he is a fascist person, an Islamophobe, transphobe. The messages were so seditious and contentious of the Indian government and the current establishment."
Talking about his campaign Surana stated that he went around the entire campus with his team and made it a point to reach out to as many students as possible in all the different departments. I had a very well-written, well-drafted, and concrete manifesto in place which was not at all political." However, he added that even though his manifesto contained genuine issues on campus, the hate campaign derailed his chances despite receiving overwhelming support initially.
"This entire campaign was neither political nor left-wing, right-win.Every candidate got their set of endorsements and support.But out of all these three candidates, it was particularly me who was targeted by some elements," he added.
Mentioning the Indian flag episode for which he was in the limelight last year, he stated that he was in the news as he "picked up the national flag outside the Indian High Commission among the Khalistani protestors."
"I was blessed to receive media coverage and was interviewed by national media channels," he added.
Satyam also stated that he was targeted for calling Khalistanis "terrorists" in one of his posts, news agency ANI reported.
He also alleged that the radical elements screenshotted his posts on his social media handle X, where he had praised the BJP government, but his posts were instead used against him with an agenda to call him a "fascist."
"See, this is my country. I will always be an advocate for my country. How is Indian politics relevant to the student union elections in the UK? My views and endorsements of my government are entirely my opinion," Satyam added.
Satyam, a Pune born student, also practiced at the Bombay High Court for some months and is pursuing an LLM now at the London School of Economics. His course is slated to end later this year.
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