Left gets Congress support over JNUSU arrest

A day after JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in a sedition case, Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday reiterated that “stringent action will be taken against those who raised anti-India slogans” at the varsity’s campus.

The raging row on Saturday turned into an ideological battle between the BJP and its Left opponents, with Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi lending them support and comparing the Modi government with Hitler’s regime. The arrest of Kumar, a leader of a CPI-affiliated student outfit, set the two sides on the warpath, with the government declaring that the varsity cannot be allowed to be a “hub of anti-national” activities.

“There was a person in Germany named Hitler who had destroyed millions and millions of people. If only that man had listened to other people, may be that country would not have gone through that much of pain,” Mr Gandhi said to loud cheers by Left-leaning students.

The Congress MP and other political leaders joined the protest at the campus demanding the release of Kumar. He also attended a meet organised by JNUSU demanding the “immediate and unconditional release of the students’ union president, end to police raj on the campus and witch-hunting of JNU students”.

Mr Gandhi was shown black flags by a group of ABVP members. He asserted that “most anti-national people are those who are suppressing the voice of students in this institution” while the BJP hit back, saying that the Congress vice-president and his friends are “speaking in the voice of LeT terrorist Hafiz Sayeed who had tweeted in support of the anti-India event in JNU”.

While admitting that anti-India sentiment is unquestionably unacceptable, Mr Gandhi said that the right to dissent and debate is an essential ingredient of democracy. Accompanied by Delhi PCC chief Ajay Maken and former Union minister Anand Sharma, Mr Gandhi interacted with the agitating students and lauded the university for representing free voice. Drawing a parallel between the actions against students in JNU and events leading to the suicide of dalit scholar Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad University, he said the question is why a student was “not allowed to say what he believes in”. The JNUSU president was arrested in connection with an event organised on the campus against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru. There were allegations that anti-India slogans were raised during the event.

A delegation of Left and JD(U) leaders called on the home minister on Saturday demanding the release of Kumar. Mr Rajnath Singh later said, “If anyone raises anti-India slogans, tries to raise questions on country’s unity and integrity, they will not be spared. Stringent action will be taken against them.” He told the Opposition leaders that “no innocent will be harassed” but the “guilty will not be spared”.

Meanwhile, Delhi police commissioner B.S. Bassi said the police is firmly committed to the rule of law and will ensure that no innocent suffers. MoS for home Kiren Rijiju said the premier academic institute cannot be allowed to be a hub of anti-national activities. University chancellor K. Kasturirangan on Saturday visited the campus and took stock of the situation even as four deans wrote to V-C Jagdesh Kumar to protest against the manner in which the police “crackdown” was “allowed by the university”.

After meeting the home minister, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was joined by CPI national secretary D. Raja and JD(U) spokesperson K.C. Tyagi, alleged that the new vice-chancellor was acting on the instructions of the government and allowed the police to go ahead with a “crackdown”.

“We met the Home Minister and apprised him about the tense atmosphere in JNU at present. The Delhi police has released a list of 20 students in connection with the event, which also includes D. Raja’s daughter, but we are asking, are they seen in the video shouting slogans (sic) ” Mr Yechury told reporters after the meeting. “They were present because they are members of the students’ union or groups but that does not mean they were involved in it. We have demanded that Kanhaiya be released and the home minister has assured us that no action will be taken against any innocent student,” he said. The Left leaders also questioned the “authenticity” of the videotape showing anti-national slogans being raised by a group of persons.