Kolkata: Amid the escalating row over the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case, students of Jadavpur University raised pro-Afzal Guru slogans while staging a protest in solidarity with the JNU students on Tuesday.
According to a Zee Media report, a group of young boys and girls were caught on camera raising slogans like - "Afzal bole azadi, Geelani bole azadi" and "Chhinke lenge azadi" - straight from the Jadavpur University
Other slogans like "Freedom from RSS, freedom from Modi government", "Jab Kashmir ne maangi azadi, Manipur bhi boli azadi" were also raised.
Students of Jadavpur University hold protest march in Kolkata, anti-national slogans raised. pic.twitter.com/9ofe2RuXiO
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 16, 2016
The rally, convened by students unions of the three faculties -- science, arts and engineering -- of Jadavpur University in the campus, was well attended.
The students also spoke out against the arrest of JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, and the "ill-treatment" meted out to Hyderabad University Dalit research scholar Rohith Vemula that "forced him to take his own life".
All India Students Association (AISA) leader Anumita Mitra justified the slogans saying these only questioned the lack of transparency in Afzal's trial and his subsequent death penalty.
Further, SFI local committee secretary Samanya Raha, who took part in the rally, said it was a "mass gathering" to protest against the arrest of Kanhaiya Kumar on the charge of sedition, as per PTI.
Meanwhile, speaking exclusively to Zee Media, BJP National Secretary Sidharth Nath Singh termed Jadavpur University incident as 'unfortunate'.
“Such slogans show that some people wants to divide India,” said Singh.
Further hitting out at the West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banejree, Singh said, “In spite of such anti-national slogans inside the Jadavpur University, Mamata government is silent on this issue. Nobody even bothered to condemned the incident. I do not think TMC will take any action over it.”
"TMC should arrest people who are in the video screaming anti-national slogans. This isn't exercising freedom of speech but anti-national ideology," he added.
However, declaring for the first time on Zee Media, Singh said BJP's Yuva Morca will take out a march 'Chalo Jaduvpur' here on February 18.
Another BJP leader Mahesh Giri also condemned the anti-national incidents happening in JNU and JU and said, "Congress, Mamata Banerjee and Left need to respond on this."
"Nation is watching, and in coming days India won't tolerate such anti-national elements. If anti-national activities happen in Universities then Govt needs to look into what strict measures need to be taken," he added.
Earlier, JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on Friday after a case of sedition and criminal conspiracy was registered over holding of the February 9 event on the varsity campus during which anti-India slogans were alleged to have been raised.
