CPM leader D Raja calls sedition charges against her daughter, others in JNU case 'politically motivated'

Raja's daughter Aprajita is among the 36 people who have been named in the chargeseheet. Others include Shehla Rashid, Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Banojyotsna Lahiri.

NEW DELHI: The Delhi Police on Monday filed a chargesheet in the 2016 JNU sedition case against former JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar and others. Soon after the 1200-page chargesheet was filed, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja called the move "politically motivated".

Raja's daughter Aprajita is among the 36 people who have been named in the chargeseheet. "It is politically motivated. After three years Delhi police is filing the charge sheet in the case. We will fight it legally in court and politically outside court," CPI Leader D Raja said. 

"After 3 years, Delhi Police has filed chargesheet and slapped sedition charges against some students that includes Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students who belong to our student organisation," he said.

"Even when the case was brought initially, we said that these are politically motivated charges and nobody can accuse All India Students Federation (AISF) for any activity against nation. There's nothing to prove, our students can't indulge in such activities and the government can't slap sedition charges on them.We'll fight the case in court," he added.

Other accused include Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya, Shehla Rashid, Rama Naga, Ashutosh Kumar and Banojyotsna Lahiri. 

Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) leader Shehla Rashid, who had led the campaign for the release of Kumar and other students, also linked it with the upcoming elections. "This is a completely bogus case in which ultimately everyone will be acquitted. The timing of the charge sheet right before the elections just reflects how the BJP wants to reap electoral benefits out of this. I was not even on campus on the day of the event," she said.

Kumar, Khalid and Bhattacharya were arrested in 2016 in a sedition case for allegedly organising an event in Jawaharlal Nehru University campus against the hanging of Parliament-attack mastermind Afzal Guru. The arrests had triggered a huge controversy with the opposition slamming the police for "working at the behest of the ruling BJP".

The controversial event at the JNU had sparked outrage after allegations were made that anti-national slogans were raised. Kanhaiya got into the limelight after his arrest. There were massive protests across the country after his arrest.