New Delhi: The
Patiala House court complex was the scene of chaos and violence Monday when a
group of lawyers and BJP activists – including one party legislator – attacked
and manhandled students and teachers from Jawaharlal Nehru University who had
gathered to show solidarity with arrested student union president Kanhaiya
Kumar. Even journalists were not spared, with at least five of them sustaining
injuries after being set upon by right-wing activists.
The charge of being “anti-national” was flung inside and outside
the courts at all those who had come from JNU. In the court room itself, a
group of 40 lawyers accompanied by the police tried evicting 10 JNU
teachers from the premises, badly beating one academic. Outside, the lead was
taken by BJP MLA from Delhi OP Sharma. Captured on camera assaulting
Ameeque Jamai, a leader of the Communist Party of India, he not only justified
his action but said he was even prepared to murder someone if he thought
they were pro-Pakistani : “If you ask me, there is nothing wrong in
beating up or even killing someone shouting slogans in favour of Pakistan,” he
said.
Asked by Zakka Jacob on CNN-IBN on the 9 pm news on Monday night
whether he approved of Sharma saying it was alright to kill someone shouting
pro-Pakistan slogans, Sudhanshu Trivedi, national
spokesperson of the BJP said he did.
Inside the court, Kanhaiya Kumar, who is facing charges of
sedition, had his judicial custody extended till February 17. Though Kumar, who
is a member of the All India Student Federation – the student wing of the CPI –
has flatly denied the police charges of sedition, Delhi Police
Commissioner B.S. Bassi claimed there was “irrefutable proof” against him.
So far, however, in all the video “evidence” circulating on television and
social media, no footage of Kumar shouting “seditious” or “anti-national
slogans” has emerged.
Legal experts say that the Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that
the charge of sedition cannot apply to mere words and that an accused person
has to have sought to instigate violence in order for his speech to be
criminalised.
On Tuesday, the Delhi high court will hear a petition filed by a
private individual urging that investigation of the JNU case be handed over to
the National Investigation Agency – the specialized anti-terrorism arm of the
government.
Drama in court
For the moment, however, the JNU teachers who were forcefully
evicted from the Patiala House courtrooms spoke to the media about their
ordeal.
“A group of these people in lawyers garb came into the court room
shouting ‘Bharat mata ki jai’. They asked us to leave, and when we questioned
this they caught hold of one of our male colleagues, Rohit, and slapped him”,
Neera Kongari, professor of Japanese studies told The Wire. Ayesha
Kidwai, professor of linguistics, added that several of the female professors
present including her, Janaki Nair and Chitra Harshvardhan were molested and
manhandled by these lawyers. All this time, police were present but did not
take any action, and the professors had to specially request a police escort
till the exit. The professors are exploring all legal
options available to them.
But Kidwai’s main fear was what would happen to Kanhaiya once he
entered the room, as all the exits were blocked by BJP lawyers. Since he was
their prime target, she was afraid he would receive much harsher treatment.
Students and media persons also received the same violent
treatment at the hands of the protesting lawyers. Varun Chauhan, a close friend
of Kumar’s, said he and his friends were called “Pakistanis”, and when they did
not respond they were hit and pushed out of the court room. The All India
Students’ Federation (AISF) general secretary Biswajit was also badly beaten,
and his clothes were torn. “Look at what they are doing”, he told The Wire.
“And they can still call Kanhaiya a terrorist?”
Bystanders and journalists who were in the open areas within the
court complex were also pushed around. Those who tried to record the on-goings
with their cellphones were threatened, and some had phones snatched from their
hand and thrown to the ground. While the police told the journalists to leave
in order to avoid getting hurt, they did not do anything to stop the lawyers
and BJP members.
Rahila, a JNU student and friend of Kanhaiya’s who had also been
pushed out of the court room, expressed her outrage at what was happening. “I
am ashamed that these are the people who are supposed to uphold our
constitution. They behave like this, that too in a public court room, yet you
call JNU students anti-national? And the police are only bystanders, not
intervening on our behalf. The entire country should be ashamed”.
Growing anger
More than 40 universities from all over the country have now
expressed their support and solidarity with JNUSU and JNUTA. Public
universities in Karnataka, Osmania University in Hyderabad and Calcutta
University have planning action including strikes and public meetings to show
their support.
In spite of the widespread support they have received from
political, cultural and academic groups, the persecution and branding of JNU
students continues. A website has created profiles of JNU students who are
“anti-national”, in order to “know them and expose them”. In addition to names,
the website also has links to their Facebook profiles, exposing these students
to online threats and harassment.
This New is Originally
Posted on THE WIRE
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