Accusing the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre of allegedly conspiring to clamp down on Jawaharlal Nehru University, workers of the Congress and Communist Party of India (Marxist) staged a joint protest outside Gandhi Park here on Friday.
The supporters and leaders of Congress and CPI (M) assembled at Gandhi Park and raised slogans against central government over the JNU issue. The leaders of both the parties addressed the gathering strongly criticising the central government for its role in the JNU issue.
Politicians addressing their supporters accused central government of allegedly conspiring to suppress the voices of academicians, students and weaker sections of the society.
The incident of a youth committing suicide in Hyderabad University was also a part of this conspiracy.
They alleged that the BJP was orchestrating the conspiracy to close down the Jawaharlal Nehru University by vitiating the ambience of the university.
Citing some social media and media reports, they said that those raising anti-India slogans were linked to the ABVP.
Instead of acting against them, the Centre is trying to frame leaders and members of other political parties in a manner which is not conducive for democracy. They said, the Centre is creating an atmosphere of fear by accusing the protesting students of raising seditious slogans and anti-national activities.
Those persons who are involved in anti national activities and questioning the sovereignty of the national should be booked under stringent laws. At the same time, the political parties and organisations are conspiring to take over the university in the name of nationalism.
Politicians of both the Congress and CPI (M) addressing the protest gathering outside the Gandhi Park in Dehradun averred that the Centre was trying to silence voices of democratic dissent of students and teachers by booking them under fabricated charges of sedition.
In his address to the gathering a Congress leader accused central government of being biased against the Congress-led State Government in Uttarakhand which was facing problems to achieve the desired level of development due to the partiality and central budgetary cuts made by the Centre .
The political leaders present at the protest gathering included Raipur MlA Umesh Sharma ‘Kau’, Rajpur Road MlA Rajkumar, Congress Mahanagar head Prithviraj Chauhan, CPIM leaders Samar Bhandari, Kamlesh Raman, Sunita Prakash, Chitra Gupta and dozens of supporters of both the Congress and CPI (M).