Vadodara student breaks down after backlash over dance performance at campus event

A student has apologised after a video of her dancing to a Bollywood song at an event organised at Maharaja Sayajirao University in Vadodara snowballed into a controversy and triggered a political slugfest.

The video, which showed the student dressed in a saree performing to the song Dhak Dhak Karne Lagaa, was recorded during the Sanskar Sangam event organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at the university’s CC Mehta auditorium. It drew sharp reactions as it went viral on social media.

As she was censured online for her performance, she soon shared a video where she defended herself, saying she was merely performing on stage in a saree and had not engaged in any obscenity. She admitted that her choice of song may have been a mistake and apologised for it.

She also alleged that members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) made the video viral for political gain and claimed that her social media account was suspended after she presented her side of the story.

The student cried profusely in the video and said the controversy had affected her mental health. She questioned why an “ordinary student” was being targeted while more serious issues were being ignored, and denied allegations that her act violated Vadodara’s cultural values.

The incident has since escalated into a political face-off.

ABVP’s Gujarat state general secretary, Devansh Brahmabhatt, accused the NSUI and the Congress of circulating the video without the student’s consent and disregarding her dignity. He demanded that the Congress apologise to the student.

Responding to the allegations, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Nishant Rawal questioned the organisers’ role. He said that since the event was conducted by ABVP, its members should have intervened if the song was considered inappropriate.

“When the programme was organised by ABVP and such a song was played on stage in their presence, why wasn’t it stopped,” Rawal asked, adding that the viral video raised concerns about the message being sent to the youth.