March to Parliament for Rohith Act
The JNU Students’ Union alleged that the Home and HRD ministries were working in coordination with the RSS to stifle dissent. It’s decided to march to Parliament on March 2 to demand the enactment of a “Rohith Act”. Meanwhile, Rohith’s mother Radhika met Sonia Gandhi and JD(U)’s K C Tyagi over the same demand.
2 More Days in Police Custody
The police custody of sedition-accused Jawaharlal Nehru University students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya has been extended for two days after police contended they were required for further probe. Another student allegedly involved in the case, Ashutosh Kumar, has joined the investigation.
Anti-terror Cell to Probe Sedition
Delhi Police Commissioner B S Bassi said the sedition case registered against students over the “anti-national” slogans raised at an event on the JNU campus had been transferred to the police’s counter-terrorism unit, Special Cell. “I have directed my officers to transfer the case to Special Cell as the matter needs focused investigation. In a case registered under Section 124 A (sedition) of the IPC, the Special Cell will do justice,” he said.
‘New Materialists’ Put Up Posters
An organisation called The New Materialists has put up posters on the JNU campus, explaining how a cultural evening was “disrupted in a planned manner by the RSS-backed ABVP” as per its agenda of “saffronising education”. The posters say that slogans such as Bharat tere tukde honge, Bharat ki barbaadi tak jang rahegi were raised, such a situation “should have been avoided, and that the organisers could have been more careful”.
Geelani Did Raise Azadi Slogans
Former Delhi University professor S A R Geelani has admitted that he and 20 students had shouted “anti-India” slogans at the Press Club of India in New Delhi on February 10. Geelani said the press club hall was booked on behalf of a fictitious Umar Gul, paying with his credit card. In his interrogation report, he said: “During the event, Kashmir ki azadi and Afzal Guru zindabad slogans were raised and I support it. In don’t believe anything is wrong in such sloganeering.”