As the Government and the Opposition sparred in Parliament on Wednesday on the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) crackdown and Rohith Vemula’s suicide, the Centre asserted that anti-national activity on the campus would not be tolerated at any cost.
While the Opposition accused the Government of muzzling freedom of expression, Human Resource Development Minister Smriti Irani charged Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi with trying to do “politics over dead body” of Rohith Vemula, who committed suicide in Hyderabad Central University and expressing “solidarity with anti-national elements” in JNU for political gains.
After Irani’s aggressive speech, lasting more than an hour, concluding the debate Rajnath Singh said the JNU probes would go as per law and police and courts would decide the matter. In his brief speech, the Home Minister said his earlier statements on the role of Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) leader Hafiz Saeed’s attempts to inflame the situation in JNU were based on facts.
“I don’t want to elaborate on this. What I said was based on facts and I have to adhere to the oath I took when I was sworn in as Home Minister. The case will be probed by the police and courts. As far as a debate on sedition charges is concerned, let the police and courts take a call. The Government is not going to interfere. I can only assure you that no innocent student will be harassed by the police,” said Rajnath. He added that whatever he wanted to say had already been said by Smriti Irani. The Home Minister also said that “no one will be spared” if they are involved in the attacks on JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar, the media and JNU teachers in the Patiala House Courts complex.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Venkaiah Naidu asserted that the Government will not tolerate anti-national activities and will punish those indulging in it, irrespective of the uproar over the handling of the JNU issue.
“I am disappointed that some people are trying to divert from the main issues,” Naidu said while intervening in the debate on the ‘Situation arising out of recent incidents in institutions of higher education with reference to JNU and University of Hyderabad’.
He said, “Nobody is saying that JNU is anti-national but some anti-national activities are happening. I would like to ask the Congress that shouldn’t we condemn it in one voice. But, to gain political points, people joined the anti-national people and expressed solidarity.”
In her fiery speech, which was boycotted by the Congress from the very beginning, Irani accused Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao of not taking her phone calls during the Hyderabad University chaos. “I called Chief Minister KCR to seek police support in maintaining law and order in the university. But the CM’s staffers told me he was busy in a meeting. Till date he has not called me back,” said Irani.
TRS MPs objected to Irani’s attack on their CM. They said Rao had contacted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and apprised him of the situation. TRS MP Jithender Reddy said the CM was busy with Municipal elections and gave strict instructions for maintaining peace. Reddy’s comments that in order to pacify the agitators he gave instructions to arrest Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya again provoked Irani and BJP MPs.
“Oh…to pacify the agitators…you gave arresting orders…how it is possible,” she quipped.
In her speech on several occasions Irani attacked Rahul. “Have you ever seen Rahul Gandhi go to one spot twiceIJ Never! But he landed in Hyderabad University twice as he saw political opportunity,” said Irani.
She also made an emotional pitch with regard to Vemula’s suicide, insisting that her Ministry had no role in his death and the deceased himself had said in his suicide note that nobody should be held responsible for his action.
Justifying her letters to Hyderabad University, Irani said she was only performing her duty as Minister while showing several letters written by Opposition MPs and her follow up actions on those letters. “I did my job and I will not apologise. Communications received from MPs should be attended to promptly,” she said, alleging that she had received similar letters from Opposition members too.
Dwelling on the JNU issue she read out the slogans that were raised on the campus and posters put out by the students and categorically stated that these activities amounted to sedition. “I wonder how these students can think like that,” she said and referred to certain “wrong textbooks” introduced during the UPA regime in schools, one of which was authorized by Teesta Setalvad.
“These books were introduced by Kapil Sibal during the UPA regime and will poison the minds of kids,” she said.
Citing documents, she said, the report by JNU’s security observed that some students were indulging in anti-national sloganeering even though the students had sought permission to hold a “poetry” event.
Those involved in the programme, which included Umar Khalid, Kanhaiya Kumar and others, she said, were suspended by the JNU authorities though they were allowed to stay on the campus till completion of the enquiry.
Earlier too, Irani said some students and professors had taken out rallies in support of Afzal Guru, who was hanged for his role in the attack on Indian Parliament, and burnt the effigy of the Home Ministry. Hanging of Afzal Guru was described by the activists as “judicial murder”, she said, adding it amounted to rising against the Supreme Court and India.
Initiating the debate in the afternoon Jyotiraditya Scindia said nobody supports the slogans that were
Raised at JNU, but slogans cannot be criminalised and termed as treason. He alleged that the Government was angry with JNU because it stood against “saffron terrorism”, Dadri lynching, RSS and the suicide of Rohith Vemula at Hyderabad University. JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar was targeted for his opposition to RSS and ABVP, the Congress leader said.
Congress’ Chief Whip Scindia alleged “undue interference” by Irani and Bandaru Dattatreya in Vemula’s case.
From the BJP’s side, Anurag Thakur raised the nationalist pitch over the JNU issue and attacked the Congress, saying that for the party, “It is family first, party next and nation last. For us, it is nation first, party next and family last.”
He alleged that Rahul went to the university to support such outfits which were named by the previous UPA Government as “frontal organisations” for Maoists.
“I want to ask Sonia, why was your young leader standing with those who stand with Afzal Guru,” Thakur said addressing the Congress president who was present in the House. His speech saw protests from Congress members who raised a point of order, saying he was levelling “derogatory allegations” against Rahul, a contention rejected by the Speaker.
TMC MP Sugata Bose accused the Government of being “heartless” in dealing with the students and said the situation in JNU should have been handled with sensitivity. Observing that similar problems were witnessed at Jadhavpur University, he said, the West Bengal Government did not over-react, but tried to defuse the situation.
He said people could disagree with students but it would be incorrect to brand them anti-national and slap sedition charges on them. “They too have the right to make mistakes,” he added. Nobody, Bose said, should claim monopoly on nationalism and the Government should respect the right of everyone including that of students to freedom of speech and expression.
Participating in the discussion, BJD member Tathagata Satpathy described Azfal Guru as a “scoundrel” and said the system gave the dreaded man full chance to defend himself.
Condemning the Patiala Court incident where some lawyers beat up some journalists, Naidu said: “There is no second opinion on that”. Earlier when CPI(M) leader MB Rajesh said the BJP is branding
JNU as a centre of anti-national activities, Naidu said: “Nobody can brand an entire university as anti-national... JNU is a great university and we want it to flourish.”
Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge said nobody should politicise the issues of Hyderabad central University and JNU. “You have 80,000 constables and you are not able to catch 8-10 students and instead you are defaming all the people,” Kharge said and asked whether it was Congress’ fault.
He also appealed to the Government to put one Dalit person in the enquiry committee probing the suicide of Rohith Vemula.