JNU row boils: Violence in court as top leaders tussle

‘Lawyers’ at Patiala House assault students, media

Mayhem erupted in New Delhi’s Patiala House court complex as 50-odd men in lawyers’ robes on Monday attacked journalists, students and teachers of JNU and unidentified people within and outside the court, dubbing them as “anti-nationals” in the wake of a raging row over the arrest of a student leader of the prestigious university. A Delhi BJP MLA, Mr O.P. Sharma, who happened to be present in the complex, also joined the lawyers in beating up a person, later identified as CPI activist Ameeque Jamai, who was taken to the Tughlak Road police station.

The violent scuffle took place as JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar, against whom a sedition case has been filed, was to be brought before metropolitan magistrate Lovleen for remand proceedings. Sensing more trouble, the police produced the student leader before the magistrate at the Vasant Kunj police station, where his custody was extended by two more days. The lawyers, claiming to be “patriots”, first targeted JNU students

and teachers inside the court, beating them up and saying JNU was a “den” of anti-India elements and terrorists.

It all started with some men in black robes threatening journalists and a handful of students and teachers, asking them to leave the courtroom where Kanahiya Kumar was to be produced. When asked why they were being told to leave the courtroom, the so-called “lawyers” became violent. They not only used abusive language, but also started assaulting all the students, teachers and journalists present inside or outside the courtroom. Some even hurled shoes at them. Even the mobile phones of some journalists were snatched. All this took place in the presence of a large police contingent deployed at the court complex.

The Centre later stepped in, and Union home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi promised action would be taken against all those involved in the attack on media personnel within and around the court premises.

The escalating standoff over Kanhaiya Kumar’s arrest also saw JNU students going on a day’s strike demanding his immediate release. A plea was also moved in the Delhi high court seeking a NIA probe into the sedition case. The JNU sent a “status report” to the HRD ministry about the situation in the campus, and the action taken by the university authorities over the event organised against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, during which anti-India slogans were allegedly raised.

Justifying the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar, Delhi police commissioner B.S. Bassi claimed he raised anti-national slogans at the controversial event in the campus, but said the police had so far found “no evidence linking the LeT” to the event. The escalating standoff over Kanahiya Kumar’s arrest on sedition charges saw the students going on strike till he is released. The JNU Teachers Union too has decided to stay away from classes on Tuesday.

Top political leaders, meanwhile, continued to trade charges over the events at JNU. BJP president Amit Shah claimed that Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi was supporting “anti-nationals” and claimed that he wanted another “division” of India, while the Congress leader said the BJP was following an agenda of creating “divide and hatred”. As the exchanges between the BJP and the Congress grew shriller, CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury also targeted the BJP, saying there could be no “bigger farce than Godse-worshippers” putting out certificates on nationalism, in a sharp counter-attack to the Left parties being labelled as “anti-national”.

The Delhi police commissioner, after meeting Union home minister Rajnath Singh, said Kanhaiya Kumar had raised anti-national slogans at the controversial JNU event, but admitted that the police had so far found “no evidence to link the LeT” to the event so far. “As and when it comes, it will shared with the home ministry,” he added. The city police chief said investigators got “crucial information” during Kanhaiya Kumar’s questioning, which will now be “verified and processed”.

On the controversial tweet, Mr Bassi said: “Whether Hafiz Saeed posted the tweet himself, did it go through a proxy account or whether someone else did so by using his name... is a now a matter of investigation. A probe has been initiated. We are now monitoring several tweets that were made by the particular handle and other handles apparently related to that.”

BJP president Amit Shah, in a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi, said he had “proved” that the national interest had no place in his mind, and asked if the Congress vice-chief had joined hands with separatist forces and wanted another division of India. Speaking on the controversy for the first time, Mr Shah asked Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Rahul a host of questions and demanded that he “apologise” for his stand on the JNU issue, saying support for anti-national forces in the name of the Left’s progressive ideology was not acceptable.

“An attempt was made to defame a leading university in the national capital by turning it into a centre which encourages terrorism and separatism. I want to ask Rahul Gandhi if it would be in the national interest had the Central government kept quiet Are you not encouraging traitors by protesting in support of these anti-nationals ” Mr Shah wrote in a blog.

Mr Shah said the Congress was frustrated at the success

of the Narendra Modi government and its leaders were unable to decide how they could play the role of a responsible Opposition.

Mr Gandhi returned fire, saying the BJP wanted to control everyone’s views. Addressing a party meeting in Assam’s Sonitpur district, he said on Monday: “The BJP and the RSS are following an agenda of creating divide and hatred, as can be seen from the recent developments in JNU, by imposing their views forcibly on people.”

While Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said the sedition charge on Kanhayia Kumar was “too much of a design” to impose the ABVP’s ideology on the nation, BSP chief Mayawati alleged that the NDA government had branded JNU as “anti-national” in order to implement the “extreme and offensive agenda” of the RSS.