Thousands of students, teachers and people from different walks of life, thronged the streets of the Capital in solidarity with the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Thursday.
Holding roses to symbolise with love for the country and non-violence, the protesters marched from Mandi House to Parliament Street where they demanded release of JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar and condemned the trend of “media aggression”, “mob attacks inside courtroom” and targeting universities over “baseless allegations”.
Students and faculty from JNU, Delhi University, Allahabad University, Jamia Millia Islamia, and Hyderabad University with other institutes like AIIMS and political personalities like Brinda Karat joined the march and shouted slogans against Delhi Police and the Government.
“The JNUSU had released a statement condemning the slogans which were raised on February 9. We are not anti-national, we only demand our rights and responsibly raise our voice against issues. Even when we condemned those slogans then why are we still framed as anti-nationalIJ” asked the JNUSU vice-president Shehla Rashid Shora.
The protesters held placards in support of JNU and defended the university students saying that they are not “anti-nationals” but raised voices against the Government. A group of lawyers also condemned the attack inside the Patiala House Court premises while lending out support to JNU.
“We condemn all those lawyers who attacked the supporters of JNU and journalists inside the Patiala House Courts. We demand stern action against them and we stand with JNU and freedom of expression. And the way media trial has already made him accused, we want to convey that Indian law does not allow that. He is yet to be proven guilty,” said Neha, a lawyer from All India lawyer’s Union.