A clash broke out between members of the Congress youth wing National Students Union of India (NSUI) and BJP students' wing Akhil Bhartiya Vidya Parishad (ABVP) outside the venue of a seminar on "Shri Ram Janma Bhoomi Temple: Emerging Scenario", to be held in Delhi University on Saturday. The seminar was to be addressed by BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy.

Protesting NSUI students clashed with the Delhi Police earlier in the day and it led to the detention of four students, reported CNN-IBN.

The seminar has begun even though protests continue.

Members of NSUI and the Left's youth wing Student's Federation of India had been protesting against the seminar about the Ram temple.

The seminar has been organised by the Arundhati Vashishtha Anusandhan Peeth, whose founder was recently-deceased Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Ashok Singhal.

BJP leader and lawyer Subramaniam Swamy on Friday said: "There has been a lot of hue and cry about the so called intolerance, where has that intolerance gone? This is a seminar on a topic which is very important; it is not being attended by politicians but by historians, researchers and academicians. What is the objection then? Those objecting are all Left-wing people and Naxalites. If they want to protest outside, they can, but if they disrupt the law and order then police should take proper action."

"The public is quite sensible. They will know if it is an election stunt or not. The whole country wants, 99% of the Hindus today want the Mandir to be built and most of the Christians and the Muslims are not opposed to it because we are not against building the Masjid across the Saryu river in Ayodhya," he told ANI.

The NSUI criticised the staging of the seminar in an educational institution, saying seminars about job placements should be conducted in colleges instead of the Ram temple, which raises "mixed feelings" among students.