The sedition case filed against a JNU student leader came up for discussion as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met opposition leaders in New Delhi on Tuesday even as an FIR was filed over Monday’s attack on journalists and students by a group of lawyers.
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Kumar was arrested after anti-India slogans were raised at an event held on the JNU campus to commemorate Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru’s execution on February 9. A joint statement signed by 455 academicians from global universities, said, “JNU stands for a vital imagination of the space of the university – an imagination that embraces critical thinking, democratic dissent, student activism, and the plurality of political beliefs”.
My information is that there was lot of jostling at the venue when he was brought to the court, Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi told reporters. There are other aspects that we are probing into.
Many would say that while action has to be taken against those students if they have indulged in anti national activities, others contend that the Delhi police may have jumped the gun in slapping sedition charges.
The journalists, shouting slogans against the Modi Government and Delhi Police, marched from Press Club of India to the Supreme Court and submitted a memorandum to its Registrar, seeking cancellation of licenses of lawyers involved in the assault.
The petition said the violence witnessed in the court not only endangered the life of Kumar, arrested in a case of sedition, but also prevented journalists from carrying out their work of reporting court proceedings.
A separate delegation of journalists met Home Minister Rajnath Singh demanding his intervention in ensuring “accountability of the Delhi Police who watched silently as the assault happened”.
The journalists questioned the “silence of police” over the attack on students and scribes and dubbed it an insult to the judiciary as the incident took place inside a court complex.
At least four journalists, including Amiya Kumar Kushwaha from media persons, were attacked on Monday without any provocation. Journalist unions accused police of standing by during the attacks. He was sent to three days police custody on Friday although he denied raising the slogans.
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