Congress rushed to the defence of DU student Gurmehar Kaur whose social media campaign against the alleged violence by ABVP has attracted a sharp attack from the saffron camp.As Union minister Kiren Rijiju followed up on finance minister Arun Jaitley’s “alliance of subversion“ barb, Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted his support for the student whose father lost his life in the Kargil war. “Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our stu dents. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance & ignorance, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur,“ Rahul tweeted.
Former UPA minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram lashed out at Jaitley for calling the debate on intolerance in the wake of violence in DU as led by an “alliance of subversion“.“When Jaitley was President of DUSU in 1975, was he heading an `Alliance of Subversion’?“ Chidambaram tweeted. Congress spokesman Manish Tewari slammed Rijiju for saying that Kaur’s mind was polluted.
Capt slams ABVP
Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh on Monday lashed out at ABVP over Kargil martyr’s daughter Gurmehar Kaur gettingf rape and death threats for speaking out against the student party. “The girl’s father laid down his life for the country during the Kargil war and she is now being victimized for her legitimate act,“ said Amarinder.
`For every voice raised in anger, there’ll be a Gurmehar’
Comparing Kaur with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, BJP MP from Mysuru Pratap Simha tweeted on Monday,“ At least Dawood did not use the crutches of his father’s name to justify his anti-national stand“. Hours later, Union minister Kiren Rijiju waded in with a tweet suggesting Kaur was being influenced.
“Who’s polluting this young girl’s mind? A strong arm (sic) force prevents a war. India never attacked anyone but a weak India was always invaded,“ Ri jiju tweeted, drawing sharp reactions from a section of the Twitterati that criticised him for undermining her freedom of expression. Some even asked why he was questioning Gurmehar’s opinion endorsing peace between India and Pakistan, while being silent on ABVP’s role in the student clashes at Ramjas College.
Kaur got support from Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhifor raising her voice against intolerance. Rahul’s office tweeted, “Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our students. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur.“
Kaur’s father captain Mandeep Singh was killed in the 1999 Kargil conflict, when she was two years old. The Lady Shri Ram College student lodged a complaint with the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) on Monday , alleging that she had been threatened with rape on social media.
Rijiju later clarified he was merely referring to Gurmehar’s social media post that shows her holding up a placard that reads “Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him“.Reacting to a tweet asking if 20-year-old Gurmehar could not have a view without being hounded, Rijiju posted: “Everyone has right of views (sic) but she said Pakistan didn’t kill our brave martyr and India should shun war. India never perpetrated violence“.
In fact, a battery of senior BJP leaders were in a combat ive mode refuting allegations of intolerance against the government and the BJP . Union I&B minister M Venkaiah Naidu said while “dissent was agreeable, disintegration was not“. “Certain misguided sections are trying to mislead young population and create social tensions and hurt sentiments of the people of India. Having a different opinion apart from majority opinion is agreeable but not disintegration. Nobody can advocate disintegration,“ he said “How can anybody advocate azadi for J&K? You want to make universities labs for separatist experiments?“ Naidu asked. He said, “ABVP is a nationalist organisation. Other organisations have different views, let them express it.Why should outsiders go and disturb peace of campuses?“ RSS’s student wing ABVP was accused of violence during a seminar on `Culture of Protests’ at Ramjas College last week, in which JNU student Umar Khalid was invited to speak. His name was later withdrawn.
On Monday , ABVP held a Tiranga rally on DU’s North Campus, protesting against the All India Students Association for raising shouting “anti-India slogans“.
Home minister Rajnath Singh said he was in touch with Delhi Police over the situation arising out of the Ramjas College clash. He has asked police to act with caution and “practise restraint“.
Congress’s Manish Tewari slammed Rijiju for suggesting that Kaur’s mind was being polluted. “The gentleman shouldn’t be in Parliament… it’s unfortunate, this emanates from the top, they feel by insulting martyrs’ families, they will get to Modi’s Cabinet.“
Tewari said the assault on students and teachers by alleged ABVP activists at Ramjas College was part of a concerted effort by right-wing forces. “There is this pattern of intimidation and violence going on across the country …The time has come for all to come together and fight this relentless assault on the Indian democracy by elements of the Sangh Parivar,“ Tewari said.
Meanwhile, former UPA minister and senior Congress leader P Chidambaram lashed out at finance minister Arun Jaitley for calling the debate on intolerance in the wake of violence in DU as led by an “alliance of subversion“. “When Jaitley was president of DUSU in 1975, was he heading an ‘alliance of subversion’?“ Chidambaram tweeted.
BJP using ABVP to take control of varsities: AAP
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“Kaur, who spoke out against ABVP’s violence, is being explicitly threatened with rape but what has Delhi Police done about it. This is not about specific threats.Women are being threatened online with death and rape all the time and many of those issuing these threats are people being followed by senior BJP members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi,“ added Marlena.
Singh, AAP MLA from Rohtas Nagar, said BJP was trying to capture Indian universities through ABVP’s “gundagardi“. “DU and JNU have united over several issues in the past year. What has happened over the past two years that there is no space for dissent, that difference of opinion is tackled through violence,“ she asked.
The party accused Delhi Police of playing to the tune of the Centre, harassing those who spoke out against BJP and its allies and not taking action against those genuinely guilty of perpetuating violence.
Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba spoke about journalists who were threatened and heckled by some people at Patiala House court last year and mentioned BJP MLA O P Sharma who was caught on camera beating up people outside the court.
“What action has been taken against these people?
BJP has made it a habit of lodging cases against those whom it targets and while they are harassed by the police, no action is ever taken against the real culprits,“ she said.
