Religious fringe groups protected by govt, says Kanhaiya
MUMBAI: Former Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar, on Wednesday, alleged that the religious fringe groups that attack activists and journalists like Gauri Lankesh, are protected by the government in order to stop those who question or write against them.
He further alleged that the people who confronted him during his protests and the killers of Gauri Lankesh, both belong to the same group.
Speaking at an event organised by the Mumbai Press Club, Kumar said that he may contest the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 but did not give any details.
Commenting on the attacks on rationalists Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and Umar Khalid, Kumar said, “Such attacks are aimed at silencing those who oppose or write against the government policies.
These attacks are a message to the protesters conveying that if this can happen in Delhi, then it can take place in Mumbai also. The people behind these attacks want to divert the attention from major issues like unemployment, farmer suicide and inflation so that they can create fear among the citizens.”
The students’ leader said that the political parties that oppose the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) should come together under the common minimum programme and fight the ruling party. “There has to be a coalition to stop the hostile environment of the country which is being encouraged by the ruling party.”
He added, “The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had issued the sketch of the accused behind Dabholkar’s killing five years ago, however, the arrests were made only after the Karnataka Special Investigation Team was involved. It is clear that the accused are being protected.”
Expressing his views on demand for economic criteria for reservations, Kumar said that it has been there in terms of subsidised food grains for people below the poverty line and reservation for female students.