Live: Congress Leader Anand Sharma Alleges ABVP Members in JNU
Catch the latest updates on the whole JNU fracas.
JNU Showdown
- Rahul Gandhi visits JNU campus; Shown black flags
- Yechury asked Kejriwal for independent probe
- Left, JDU leaders to meet Arvind Kejriwal
- Rajnath Singh talks tough on JNU issue
- Seven more JNU students detained by the Delhi police
- CPI-M leaders met JNU students at 5 pm today
- Bassi, IB Chief met Home Minister Rajnath Singh
- Left, JD(U) leaders demanded release of Kanhaiya
- Delhi Police wrote to the JNU VC asking for cooperation in the probe
- ABVP, AISF members taken into custody in Hyderabad
Congress Spokesperson Alleges ABVP Attack on Anand Sharma
Congress member RS Surjewala has alleged that the members of ABVP have attacked opposition leader Anand Sharma with a sharp weapon on the JNU campus.
He has questioned if the Prime Minister is going to take action against its student group for disrupting law and order. He has also slammed the lack of protection provided by Delhi police which is run by the Centre.
Video Alleges Involvement of ABVP in “Anti-National” Sloganeering
A video of BJP’s student wing – Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad (ABVP) – members’ alleged involvement in “anti-national” sloganeering has surfaced on the internet.
Also read: JNU Under Siege: Guilty of Sedition or Victims of Persecution?
The faces highlighted in the video published on YouTube show three members of ABVP involved in the activity for which police action was taken against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and 8 other students.
Also read: Upset Ex-Servicemen From NDA Threaten to Return Their JNU Degrees
BJP Accuses RaGa of Insulting the Country
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has accused Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi of insulting the nation by supporting “anti-national” force and “speaking the language of Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist Hafeez Sayeed”.
Suspected RSS Workers Threaten Students
A video which shows two men speaking in Hindi, asking the protesting students to be careful, and grateful for being in police custody and not left at the mercy of people outside the gates.
CPI leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sitaram Yechuri has also spoken about the issue of RSS speaking about the “conspiracy of JNU students”.
ABVP, AISF members taken into custody in Hyderabad
At least 14 members of ABVP and AISF were on Saturday, taken into preventive custody at the Osmania University in Hyderabad after they got into a heated argument over a planned protest against JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest in Delhi.
Most Anti-National People are Those Suppressing Students: Rahul Gandhi
ABVP activists lie down on roads to block Rahul Gandhi from getting on stage. On finally reaching, Gandhi lambasts central government over JNUSU student’s arrest.
He encouraged the students by saying that there were more than billion people in the country who believe in, and stand behind them.
Comparing the situation with the time when India fought the British, he said the most important thing is people’s voice.
Rahul Gandhi to Address JNU Students
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will start addressing students at the JNU campus shortly. Meanwhile, JNUSU calls for strike of university from Monday till the time its president is released from jail a Times of India reporter tweeted. Kanhaiya was arrested on sedition charges which led to an uproar.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal confirmed what senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said about asking for an independent probe from Kejriwal.
JNU Chanting “Rahul Go Back” Slogans
High drama continued in JNU with Rahul Gandhi’s arrival. The campus started buzzing with “Rahul Gandhi go back” slogans.
There were allegations of Delhi cops entering girls’ hostel of JNU. Commissioner of Police BS Bassi rubbished the claims.
Rahul reaches JNU, Black Flags raised
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi reaches JNU campus and was welcomed with black flags by a group of students.
Rahul, who arrived in a black car, joins Anand Sharma and Ajay Maken who were already at the campus.
His presence will surely give an impetus to students and teachers who are protesting against the arrest of JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar.
‘Call Girls Better Than Protesters’
Students are now protesting the JNUSU president, Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest inside the campus and are demanding his release.
Haryana CM’s Aide Makes Shameful Statement About Protesters
Meanwhile, Jawahar Yadav, aide and former OSD (Officer on Special Duty) of Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar made a shameful comment about the women protesters in JNU.
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Farooq Abdullah did not approve of the way the students held the Afzal Guru event in the JNU campus.
Rahul Gandhi to Join JNU Students at 6 PM
Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi will visit the JNU campus at 6 pm, on Saturday. Congress leader, Anand Sharma, will accompany him. Congress spokesperson Ajay Maken and Anand Sharma have already reached the campus.
Earlier in the day, CPI-M leaders Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu and D Raja along with JD(U) leader KC Tyagi visited Rajnath Singh and Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the JNU issue.
‘Will Dissociate if Students Heard Uttering Anti-National Slogans’
JD(U) leader KC Tyagi strongly said in the tape that neither SFI leader nor JNUSU president is heard uttering ‘Pak Zindabad, Hindustan Muradabad’ and if they really have said the slogans, we will ‘dissociate’ from them.
Tyagi, along with Left leaders met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal throughout the day. He further added that “it is not wrong to protest against RSS, BJP or Smriti Irani.”
Adding to the noise, SP leader Azam Khan said that “JNU is being targeted like AMU and Jamia. Government wants to shut down JNU.”
Yechury Demands for Independent Probe
After meeting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, senior CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury said that they have “requested the CM to institute independent magisterial enquiry in the matter. Authenticity of evidence furnished by Central Government must be established, which is only possible through an independent enquiry.”
Meanwhile, former Union minister and senior Congress leader Manish Tewari lashed out at the Government’s action in the JNU case.
There has been a growing demand for revisiting the sedition law (124A of IPC).
CPIM, JDU Leaders to Meet Kejriwal Over JNU Issue
Senior CPI-M leaders Sitaram Yechury and D Raja will meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to discuss over the JNU issue, say media reports. The meeting to be held at Kejriwal’s residence will also have JD (U) leader KC Tyagi in attendance.
Earlier in the day, they met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh who assured them proper investigation. They also demanded the release of JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested on sedition charges.
Rajnath Singh Talks Tough
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh after meeting the Left, JD(U) leaders and Bassi – though not together – said, “No question of harassment of students; But guilty will not be spared,” reports CNN-IBN.
Rajnath on Friday had warned of the “strongest possible” action against those involved in raising anti-India slogans at an event in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) campus, saying such activities will not be tolerated.
MoS PMO, Jitender Singh said that the government is “Only implementing law of the land; Pro-azadi slogans anywhere in India, including J&K are anti-national.”
Meanwhile, sources told The Quint that one SFI activist Shaqib has been detained at the Parliament street police station. Whether he will be arrested is still not known.
‘Freedom of Expression Can’t be Absolute’
MoS Home Kiren Rijiju speaks up on the JNU incident.
Delhi Police Detains More JNU Students
Another seven students from Jawaharlal Nehru University have been detained by Delhi police, reports ANI. The detained students have been put under preventive detention as they were at Indira Gandhi international centre for protest.
However, Delhi police sources told The Quint that no students have been detained but they have been taken for questioning.
Apart from Kanhaiya, the letter by Delhi Police to the JNU VC, names five other students (Umar Khalid, Ashutosh Kumar, Anirban Bhattacharya, Rama Naga
and Ananta Prakash) were mentioned. Whether they are the same five is not yet confirmed.
CPI-M Leaders to Meet JNU Students
After meeting Union home minister Rajnath Singh, CPI-M leaders will now meet JNU students on the campus at 5 pm. Sitaram Yechury, D Raja, Nilotpal Basu will be present, reports ANI.
The leaders put forth their demand to release Kanhaiya in the meeting with Rajnath. Kanhaiya is not just the JNUSU president, but also an AISF leader. AISF is a Left-leaning student organisation.
Bassi, IB Chief Meet Rajnath
Delhi Commissioner of police BS Bassi has reached the residence of Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to apprise him of the situation in JNU. The Home Secretary and Director of Intelligence Bureau are also a part of the meeting.
Director of IB furnished inputs from intelligence agencies about how separatists are mobilising the protests, according to ABP Live.
Delhi police earlier wrote to the JNU VC for cooperation in the probe.
Meanwhile, BJP leader Shrikant Sharma said “Rather than condemning such slogans, some political parties are justifying it and are speaking same language as Hafiz Saeed’s.”
The Indian National Student Organisation held a protest outside the JNU premises in Delhi.
Release Kanhaiya: Yechury After Meeting Home Minister
Veteran CPI-M leader Sitaram Yechury speaking to media said:
After meeting Rajnath, Yechury emphatically said:
Delhi Police Writes to JNU VC
JNU professors to meet Vice-chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar at 12 noon. Media reports suggest the Delhi police has also written to Kumar asking him to produce the rest of the students who have been named in the FIR and cooperate in the investigation.
CNN-IBN reports that in another letter dated 12 February, Delhi police provides the sequence of events leading up to getting information on the ‘anti-India protest’.
Ahead of his meeting with Rajnath Singh, D Raja told the media that the current government is “diverting the attention from other issues to JNU, Hyderabad University.”
Bassi, CPI-M Leaders to Meet Rajnath
Veteran leaders of CPI-M D Raja and Sitaram Yechury to meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on Saturday at 11 am. Raja has already reached Rajnath’s residence. Chief General Secretary and National Spokesperson of the Janata Dal KC Tyagi will also be present at the meeting. Delhi Commissioner of Police BS Bassi is also scheduled to meet Rajnath at 11:30 am to discuss the JNU issue.
Upset Ex-Servicemen From NDA Threaten to Return Their JNU Degrees
JNU alumni has strong connections with the defence institutes of the country. The university provides academic courses to the students of six prominent defence institutes, including the National Defence Academy.
Now, ex-servicemen from the 54th NDA course who were commissioned into the armed forces in the late 1970s have threatened to return their degrees. In a letter to the JNU Vice Chancellor, the ex-servicemen say:
Political Leaders Slam JNU Issue
JNU students were booked for sedition on Friday after the administration of the university ordered a “disciplinary” enquiry into the holding of a pro-Afzal Guru event on campus.
JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday on the charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy after “anti-India” slogans were allegedly raised during the event.
A case of sedition against several unknown students was lodged on Wednesday under IPC Sections 124A (sedition), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons with a common intention) by BJP MP Maheish Girri and ABVP.
Political leaders in the Opposition spoke against this while Union ministers Smriti Irani and Rajnath Singh denounced the protest march in JNU against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
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