Objectionable messages, directed at the BJP and saffron groups, were found written on the pedestal of a yet-to-be-unveiled statue of Swami Vivekananda on the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Thursday.

The statue, covered in a saffron cloth, is located in the administration block where students are protesting against a jump in hostel fees.

Vice-chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar said a complaint would be filed against those responsible.

“For all of us, Swami Vivekananda is a great icon and philosopher. I think every Indian respects him. Vandalising his statue is the most uncivilised behaviour I can think of,” he said.

The JNU Students’ Union distanced itself from the act, saying in a statement: “We condemn unequivocally the attempts to malign the JNU student movement through acts which do not represent the JNU student movement.”

“Students with their future at stake due to the hostel fee hike can never be perpetrators of any violence or undemocratic action,” it added.

The JNU Teachers’ Association (JNUTA) also expressed its “strong disapproval” over “defacing of the area around the Vivekananda statue”.

“One way or the other, those responsible for this are clearly not friends of the struggle against an authoritarian administration and its unjust actions, and do not represent the democratic ethos of which JNU has justifiably been proud,” the JNUTA said.