Newly elected JNU students’ union president N. Sai Balaji met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal at his residence here on Wednesday, a day after defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman said his union was led by “anti-India forces”.

Balaji, who was accompanied by journalist Saba Naqvi, told Kejriwal about alleged violence by RSS student wing ABVP and accused the JNU administration of bias. He also spoke of the protest moves by students, such as holding night vigils and running token dhabas on the campus.

“He (Kejriwal) said the present regime is taking inspiration from Hitler and trying to muzzle and annihilate democracy…. He asked us to keep our fight on and be united,” Balaji said.

A source who was present during the meeting said Kejriwal did not promise any immediate or direct intervention like the magisterial probe he had ordered in 2016 after certain JNU student leaders were arrested on sedition charges.

However, he offered legal aid, if necessary. He also congratulated the Left on its victory in the JNU student polls, which it has swept for the third year in a row. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had done so earlier this week.

Clashes between the Left and the ABVP had begun during counting on September 15 and continued till Monday. Several students are injured. Balaji and a few teachers who had accompanied him to the police on Monday morning were heckled by unknown people inside the police station.

The police have registered six FIRs. The university administration has, in statements after the violence, expressed “anguish” at certain social media comments by students’ union office-bearers and aired disapproval of the campus election committee’s alleged disregard of ABVP complaints during counting.

Sitharaman had on Tuesday revived memories of 2016 when the entire campus was branded “anti-national” by several ministers after the sedition controversy, in which the police are yet to file chargesheets.

She accused the JNU students’ union of “openly participating” with forces that are “waging war against India” but did not specify which forces she was referring to.

The university administration has ordered the campus dhabas closed in the evening without citing reasons.

Atishi, a member of the political affairs committee of Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party, said: “The ABVP’s politics is that of hooliganism. We saw it during the Delhi University students’ union polls, and we are seeing it now at JNU.

“This is the reason for our foray back into university politics in DUSU (Delhi University students’ union) where our Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti joined hands with the All India Students Association (of which Balaji is a member) to break the domination of money and muscle power.”