He added: "You must question them at every single step. Question yourselves also. Look inside yourselves & question yourselves. Later, a Minister turns around and says he was not even a Dalit. Sushma Swarajji nobody askd whether he ws Dalit or nt,ques is why wasn't Indian students allowed to say &fight for what he believes
When we fought the British, we fought them for our land and we fought them for our voice I came here to tell you, there are more than billion people in country who believe what you believe in & standing right behind you. The most important thing we have is the voice of our people."
He was also quoted saying: "What is anti-national? Most anti-national people are those suppressing the voice of students in JNU."
Earlier, the Congress hit back in the JNU row, accusing the Narendra Modi government of being anti-JNU and targetting Left and progressive forces. "This govt is anti-JNU & wants to shut down the Univ. They're using this as a trigger to target Left-liberal & progressive forces," Congress spokesman Manish Tewari tweeted. In an apparent reference to the arrest of JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, Tewari said, "Law of sedition is very clear & they'll never be able to substantiate charges under the sedition law."
Tiwari insisted that "freedom of speech and expression is circumscribed by reasonable restriction". Hitting out at Rahul Gandhi and other opposition leaders who have criticised the arrest of the JNU student leader, BJP had earlier alleged that they were speaking in the voice of terror outfit LeT which was an "insult" to the martyrs and would boost the morale of anti-national forces.
ABVP members at JNU didn't take too kindly to Rahul Gandhi's visit as they waved black flags at the Congress VP. They also shouted: "Rahul Gandhi go back." Earlier, Rahul Gandhi added his voice to the debate saying that while 'anti-India sentiment is unacceptable, debate is part of a democracy.
He said: "While Anti-India sentiment is unquestionably unacceptable, the right to dissent & debate is an essential ingredient of democracy. Modi Govt & ABVP bullying an institution like JNU simply because it won't toe their line is completely condemnable."
Agitated over the arrest of JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a case of sedition over an Afzal Guru event in the varsity, the students and teachers condemned the action against Kumar as "uncalled" for. Alleging that the students are being "witch-hunted" and police is targeting them mindlessly, the students continued with their protests outside the Vice Chancellor's office demanding the administration's intervention into the manner in which students are being compared to "terrorists" and picked up from campus by policemen in plain clothes. The students also claimed that their parents are asking them to quit the university in view of the "vitiating atmosphere" at Jawaharlal Nehru University(JNU).
"The police is mindlessly patrolling the campus and the students are being witch-hunted and demonised for doing nothing. What is the proof that Kanhaiya was there among those raising anti-India slogans? Has he been spotted in any picture or video? Why are all JNU students being given 'anti-national' certificates. We condemn the arrest," said JNUSU vice president Shehla Rashid Shora.
A member of the All India Students Association (AISA) said, "Why is the administration not protecting students against this selective targeting by ABVP. Why police have been given such a free hand to rashly pick students from campus? Why were the cops not uniformed? If there has to be an inquiry, why no protocols are being followed?" Shivani Behl, a student at varsity's School of Social Sciences said, "my parents today asked me to quit the university and go back to my hometown in Bihar as the varsity's atmosphere was very vitiating". JNU Teacher's Association (JNUTA) issued a statement terming the "excessive police action" as an attack on the varsity which is known for its democratic ethos.
"The JNU teaching community is extremely concerned at threat to democratic ethos, which has played a critical role in assuring that university serves its social function and secure its position as one of the premier institution of higher education," it said. President Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested in a sedition case over an event at the varsity's campus against hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, sparking massive outrage among students and criticism from non-BJP parties which dubbed it as an "emergency-like" situation. Meanwhile, after receiving an interim report from its disciplinary committee probing the involvement of the students at the event, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) debarred eight students from academic activities pending a disciplinary enquiry.
Earlier in the day, Union Ministers Smriti Irani and Rajnath Singh had advocated strong action against those who were involved in the alleged "anti-India" act even as the students continued with their protests on the campus for the third day, saying they are being "witch-hunted". The students said their parents are asking them to quit the university in view of the "vitiated atmosphere" at the varsity.
The arrest of Kanhaiya, a day after police filed a sedition and criminal conspiracy case on complaints from BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP members, was later remanded in three-day police custody by a local court. After the arrest, the varsity students and teachers protested outside the Vice Chancellor's office demanding the administration's intervention into the manner in which students are being compared to "terrorists" and picked up from campus by policemen in plain clothes during alleged raids.
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