Opposition Congress on Wednesday raised the issue of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar being refused entry into the visitors’ gallery of the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday.
Opposition Congress on Wednesday raised the issue of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar being refused entry into the visitors’ gallery of the Maharashtra Assembly on Tuesday.
Congress MLA Naseem Khan brought up the issue in the House and asked why Mr Kumar was not allowed to enter the visitors’ gallery of the Council despite having an authorised pass.
“There was no obvious reason to not allow Kumar, who had a valid pass, in the Assembly. Is Kumar a terrorist ” Mr Khan, a former minister, said.
Supporting Mr Khan, former chief minister Prithviraj Chavan said India was a democracy and that common citizens should not be suppressed. Mr Khan and Mr Chavan termed the incident “shameful”. “He is not a terrorist. In a democratic set-up, anyone can come and watch the proceedings of the law-making bodies. There must be a probe as to who ordered him to be stopped,” Mr Chavan said.
Speaker Haribhau Bagade told Mr Khan that he would seek details of Tuesday’s incident.
Mr Kumar, who was in town for a programme of the Peasants and Workers Party (PWP), expressed his desire to witness the ongoing business of the state legislature and PWP MLC Jayant Patil helped him obtain a pass to the Council. However, Mr Kumar claimed on Tuesday that security at the gallery did not allow him inside, saying there was a problem with his entry pass.
When contacted, principal secretary of the legislature Anant Kalse said he had no knowledge of the incident. “I have sought information on the issue,” he repeated, declining further comment. The security head of the legislature did not respond to phone calls made by The Asian Age.
BJP MLA Ram Kadam refuted the allegations and said that Mr Kumar did not have a valid pass. When asked about the pass, Mr Kadam said Mr Kumar showed it to the media, but did not have it at the time of entering the Assembly.
