RAMJAS ROW: GURMEHAR DELETES HER FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
Grandfather joins AAP rally in support of Jalandhar girl, party submits memo to DC; ABVP protests
JALANDHAR: Gurmehar Kaur, the Delhi University student who shot to limelight last week after her Facebook post taking on the rightwing student organisation Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) went viral, has deleted her account on the social media site.
“I just gave my opinion, but things were blown out of proportion. I had a really bad time. I am not in a state to talk about it. I cannot take it anymore,” she had told HT on Wednesday.
The controversy erupted on February 21 over an invite to JNU students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid to address a seminar which was withdrawn by Delhi’s Ramjas College following opposition by the ABVP. The next day, violent clashes broke out on Delhi University’s north campus between the Left-leaning AISA and the ABVP, a students’ body linked to the RSS, with both sides accusing each other of physical and sexual assault.
Kaur was sucked into the row after one of her older social media posts on her father, Captain Mandeep Singh, who was killed in Kashmir in 1999, and her perceptions about Pakistan and war, surfaced. “Pakistan did not kill my father. War killed him,” read one part of the post.
The 20-year-old alleged she was trolled and had received rape threats. She was panned across the board – from minister Kiren Rijiju and cricketer Virender Sehwag to Olympic medallist Yogeshwar Dutt and Haryana minister Anil Vij.
So much so that Kaur pulled out of a protest march against the ABVP on Tuesday (February 28) and even left Delhi for her hometown Jalandhar.
“The issue on which I spoke was blown out of proportion. I want to make it clear that I do not want to get into politics,” Kaur said while talking to Hindustan Times.
Refusing to talk about her past, a visibly distraught Kaur said the incidents that took place on campus pained her but she had never imagined that the issue would take such an ugly turn.
Kaur said she was surprised on seeing her photo in the newspapers. “It is not acceptable to me that people now will get to see where I stay.”
Explaining her ordeal, Kaur said that she hasn’t even eaten properly in days as people had been bombarding her with messages and phone calls.
“I am done with it (being a part of the agitation). I came here from Delhi so that I could get some rest. But the media followed me even here and has been spamming me. I am not even able to step outside the se days,” she said.
Kaur has been provided with a lady constable by Jalandhar police for her security.
Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) came out in support of Gurmehar on Thursday and submitted a memorandum to the Jalandhar deputy commissioner demanding justice for her.
Gurmehar’s grandfather Kanwaljeet Singh also jointed the AAP rally, which was led by AAP’s state women’s wing chief Baljinder Kaur. Talking to the media, Kanwaljeet said they only demand security for Gurmehar.
“Gurmehar is Punjab’s daughter and her security is our prime concern, said Baljinder.
“She is just 20 and has been receiving threats on the social media. It’s sad that our educational institutions are being used for political gains,” she said, condemning Union minister Kiren Rijiju’s tweet “who was polluting Gurmehar’s mind.”
Meanwhile, the local unit of the ABVP also held a protest against Gurmehar on Thursday.