Delhi University (DU) has accused Congress leader Rahul Gandhi of trespassing into the campus after he visited a hostel last week.

Several faculty members and students have termed the university's action "unwarranted", saying visits by political leaders have never been scrutinised in this way.

Rahul visited DU's post-graduate men’s hostel on May 5 and interacted with the occupants. The next day, the university's public relations officer, Anoop Lather, put out a message in a WhatsApp group called DU Media Official, meant for media professionals covering the university, on the issue.

Lather, who is the admin of the group, told The Telegraph on Wednesday that the message was an official media release of the university. According to the release, Rahul's visit was "unauthorised".

"It has been brought to the notice of University through PG Men’s hostel authorities and guards that Congress leader, Shri Rahul Gandhi, along with many outsiders, made a sudden and unauthorised entry into the PG Men’s hostel in the lunch hour on 05/05/2023 without any prior intimation. It disrupted the lunch of many inmates, who got annoyed due to the chaos created by his entry along with the mob accompanying him. This entry raises serious security concerns for the hostel inmates and the leader. University authorities will take necessary steps to avoid such incidents of this trespassing and will ensure that this does not happen in future again,” it said.

Pankaj Garg, chairman of the Indian National Teachers’ Congress, called DU's action unnecessary and demanded the withdrawal of the charges.

“The university basically called Rahul Gandhi a trespasser. This is highly objectionable. He is a national leader and an alumnus of this university. There was no untoward incident during his visit. Rahul has done no wrong,” Garg said.

He said there have been instances of political leaders visiting DU colleges without any issue being made. BJP president J.P. Nadda was the sangathan mantri of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in the 1990s when he used to visit the colleges and hostels regularly.

“Even now, DU authorities call RSS leaders like Indresh Kumar and others regularly and honour them by spending lakhs. When the university has no funds for development activities and it has increased the tuition fee of students, what is the rationale behind spending on the felicitation of RSS leaders?” Garg said.

Garg said the country was passing through serious problems like unemployment, price rise, lack of social security and concerns over safety.

A student who did not wish to be quoted said: “Rahul mostly listened to students. Nobody was asked to join the interaction. Students gathered willingly. There was no disruption.”