Hours after his release from Tihar jail in a sedition case, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khaled addressed a cheering crowd of his fellow students on Friday night.
According to the court order, the charges of sedition on the two arrested students Umar Khaled and Anirban Bhattacharya, have been called off.
Also read: The Fight Will Not Die Down: Umar Khaled As He Returns to JNU
Khaled, however, said that he was proud to have been charged with the law under which freedom fighters of India were booked.
We have no regrets of being jailed in this particular case. We are in fact proud of the fact that we have been booked under sedition, a law under which activists like Arundhati Roy and Binayak Sen were booked. Our names have been added to the list of those who have been jailed for raising their voices.Umar Khaled
Earlier on Frifay, actor Anupam Kher who was on campus for the screening of his film Buddha in a Traffic Jam was critical of JNU students who were supportive of Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khaled and Anirban Bhattacharya.
In a 35-minute speech, Umar directly attacked the government and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
He sarcastically added that only people like (Pravin) Togadia and Yogi Adityanath are the only people who have all the freedom of expression.
I am not ashamed that I was in jail. Criminals are those who are in power, those in jail are the ones who raise their voice.
Umar claimed that he was being labelled a terrorist because of Islam, which, he said, he did not practice.
I never followed Islam but I was called Islamist terrorist. It was not just my trial but entire Muslim community’s trial. But I want to ask what if I was practising Muslim? What if I came from Azamgarh and wore a skull cap? That will be enough to give me a terrorist certificate.
Khaled’s 6-year-old sister Sara also joined the celebrations,
Those who are raising concerns about wastage of taxpayers’ money, we want to tell them we are not going to go back to studies now that we are back from jail. By jailing us you have given bigger responsibilities on our shoulders and we will fulfill that by fighting.
Khaled and Bhattacharya were arrested on charges of sedition for their involvement in a controversial event organised to protest hanging of Afzal Guru, the 2001 Parliament attack convict.
Kanhaiya, who was also arrested on charges of sedition in connection with the 9 February event at the JNU, was granted bail earlier in March.
(With PTI inputs)
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