He was referring to Friday’s police action at the JNU campus and the arrest of Kumar in a sedition case on Friday.
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The students, who face the same charges as Kanhaiya, have been taken to the Parliament Street police station for questioning in connection with the case.
He said that though there are claims of JNU student leaders shouting anti-India slogans, but there are also some reports which say that it was actually ABVP members who shouted the slogans. He was sent to three days police custody on Friday although he denied raising the slogans.
“Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is stating that he will get the matter investigated from a district magistrate”, Mr Kher said.
After meeting the Home Minister, CPI general secretary Sitaram Yechury, who was joined by CPI National Secretary D Raja and JD(U) spokesperson KC Tyagi, today alleged that the new Vice Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University was acting on the instructions of the government and allowed the police to go ahead with a “crackdown”.
“We met the home minister and apprised him about the tense atmosphere in JNU at present”.
Kanhaiya was arrested over an event at the JNU 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.
When asked if the government decision to charge the JNUSU president with sedition was justified, Mr. Hosabale told The Hindu, “All universities must be purged of all kinds of anti-national elements”.
“We also respect what is raised behind our back”, he said. “They do not understand that by crushing you they are making you stronger”, he said, a point aimed at ABVP students who showed black flags when he visited the campus.
When asked about who these students are, the VC said, “it is in best interest of the students that their identity be protected”.
The Home Minister’s statement came after a delegation of Left and JD(U) leaders met him demanding release of JNU students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar.
Eyewitnesses said Sharma was repeatedly struck on his ear by an assailant which led to profuse bleeding.
A group of RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad activists held counter-demonstrations at India Gate and demanded action against the university and the students who organised the event.
Earlier in the day, a batch of ex-servicemen, alumni of the university, threatened to return their degrees as they found it “difficult” to be associated with an institution that has become a “hub of anti-national activities”.
The event was held despite the JNU administration having cancelled the permission following a complaint by ABVP members, who had termed it “anti-national”.
The Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA), a broad coalition of Indian American organisations working to safeguard pluralism and democracy in India, along with prominent Dalit organizations such as the Ambedkar Association of North America (AANA) and the Dalit History Month issued a joint statement condemning the arbitrary arrests and the open violation of civil rights of the protesting students.
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Alleging that Kanhaiya’s arrest has been politicised, Prince said, “It is alarming that anti-nationalforces, which played no role in the national movement, are today branding my brother and his university as anti-national”.
