Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor today denied that his party had forced students to attend its 71st anniversary celebration, claiming that the students attended on their own volition.

He also claimed that the anniversary celebration of the political party was not a political gathering.

"There were indeed students who attended. They asked to attend, so we invited them.

"There were those from Universiti Kuala Lumpur (UniKL), Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) and other universities," Tengku Adnan told journalists in Putrajaya.

He said this when asked to respond to complaints by students at the Umno anniversary celebration at Bukit Jalil last night that they were tricked or forced to attend the event...