Gurmehar Kaur’s grandfather Kanwaljeet Singh.

Tribune News Service

New Delhi/Jalandhar, February 28

Gurmehar Kaur’s grandfather Kanwaljeet Singh on Tuesday hit out at the politicians asking them to refrain from giving any statement on her granddaughter.

“Drama is being created, which shouldn’t be highlighted. Politicians must refrain from giving statements,” said Kanwaljeet.

He said: “She is just a young girl, lost her father to Kargil war. Don’t they (politicians) see a daughter in her.”

However, the mother of the 20-year-old Delhi University student, whose defiant stand against the ABVP drew a volley of hate messages on her Facebook account refused to be drawn into the controversy over it.

When contacted, Rajvinder Kaur said, “No thanks… I do not want this controversy to go on.”

“For me, security of my daughter is a much bigger issue than any news”, she said.

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Gurmehar’s uncle Davinderdeep Singh, a professor at a college in Nakodar at Jalandhar, Gulmehar’s hometown, said his brother would have stood like a rock behind her.

“She is entitled to her opinion… she did not say anything anti-national,” he said.

Kaur, who is a Delhi University student and daughter of Kargil war martyr, invited a stir by posting a message against the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on social media.

Kaur has also filed a complaint with the  Delhi Commission for Women alleging that she received rape threats on social media for posting the message.

The Delhi Police also filed an FIR against the rape threat to Kaur. The FIR was registered under relevant Sections of the IT Act and the IPC.

The entire controversy gained momentum after last week’s clash that erupted between Left-affiliated All India Students Association (AISA) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) backed ABVP over cancellation of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid’s event at Delhi University’s Ramjas College.

The seminar was withdrawn by the college authorities following opposition by the ABVP.  —Agencies