Scores of JNU students formed a human chain and raised slogans, demanding that sedition charges against varsity's students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar be dropped.
Kumar was arrested earlier this week in a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy filed over holding of an event at the varsity against Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging during which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.
The students were also joined by families of staff members residing on the campus. "Neither Kanhaiya was the organiser nor he was associated with the event. He went their just to intervene when the argument between ABVP members and organsiers started heating up. He has been framed," a teacher alleged.
A student, Maya John, said "whatever Kanhaiya said, his speech is for everyone to see. How can the footage with police be different from that with the university? Isn't it already fishy? Just because they needed someone to target, they picked up Kanhaiya as he is the president." Several activists joined by people from different walks of life staged a protest at Jantar Mantar, expressing solidarity with the agitating students and teachers of JNU.
Cong demands action against ABVP for attack on Anand Sharma
Congress demanded that Prime Minister Narendra Modi take action against ABVP activists who allegedly manhandled senior party leader Anand Sharma at JNU last night.
Party spokesperson RPN Singh said Sharma has already filed an FIR and immediate action should be taken in the matter.
Senior Congress leader Sharma had claimed that he was physically attacked by ABVP activists on JNU campus while he was returning with Rahul Gandhi after attending a protest meeting held by students.
Condemning the attack, Singh said, "It showed Modi government in bad light as he was attacked by the goondas of ABVP when police looked the other way."
He said such attack on Opposition leaders had never taken place when Congress-led UPA was in power for 10 years at the Centre.
Asserting that Congress was always for "zero tolerance" towards terrorism and anti-national activities, he asked what the BJP has to say about PDP, its coalition partner in Jammu and Kashmir, which called Afzal Guru as a martyr. "What action the government has taken against the BJP leaders who have hailed Nathuram Godse as martyr?" Singh asked.
"The mindset of BJP was also exposed on the issue of suicide of Rohith Vemula, the Dalit scholar from Hyderabad University. The way government is acting against students in JNU, is the PM going to muzzle students in every campus?" he asked.
JNU-Patel
Joining the debate on JNU row, senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said it is not right to call someone "anti-national" just because that person believes in an ideology that is at variance with thoughts of a particular party.
During a brief interaction with the media here, Patel also supported Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi's stand on the JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) issue.
"People having a different ideology (than that of a particular party) should not be branded as anti-national. Rahulji also went to the JNU campus and said people must be allowed to express their views and opinions. I completely agree with Rahulji," said the Political Secretary of Congress President Sonia Gandhi.
In an apparent reference to BJP student wing ABVP, Patel alleged attempts are being made by a student union to take control of the JNU campus. "It is condemnable if someone is really involved in anti -national activities. It is equally condemnable if some student union, having political backing, wants to capture and dominate the campus through this issue," said Patel. Rahul yesterday visited JNU to meet the students protesting the arrest of their students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar. Kanhaiya, booked for sedition, was arrested on Friday over a protest organised in the premier institute's premises in New Delhi on February 9 against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
With inputs from agencies
