JNU erupts in joy as Kanhaiya gets interim bail ‘Media entered JNU with ABVP reference on Feb 9’
Slogans, chants echo on campus, students to hold victory march today
JNU students broke into slogans of ‘azaadi’ (freedom) and ‘lal salam’(Red salute) as soon as news of students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar’s six-month conditional bail in a sedition case reached them on Wednesday.
Students and teachers, who were protesting at Parliament Street when the news broke, decided to hold a victory march on the JNU campus.
The march began at Sabarmati Lawns and went up to the administrative block, with the students raising slogans such as “Smriti Irani jhooth hai comrade Kanhaiya jeeta hai (Smriti Irani is a liar, comrade Kanhaiya has won)”.Teachers too joined the celebration.
“Without any reason, they kept our leader for 20 days… Now all those who called Kanhaiya anti-national should apologise,” said V Lenin Kumar, former JNUSU president.
Students continued to rally for fellow students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, and said they would hold a bigger victory march on Thursday. “Hope Kanhaiya will be able to be a part of it. We are very happy and will continue with our struggle,” said Shehla Rashid Shora, JNUSU vice-president.
Earlier in the day, students and teachers from JNU, Delhi University, Ambedkar University and Jamia Millia Islamia took part in a march to demand the release of Kanhaiya, Umar and Anirban. “It has come as a great relief to all of us who knew that the charges against Kanhaiya were completely fabricated,” said Professor Ayesha Kidwai, a JNU teacher.
Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula’s mother and Khalid’s father also joined the protestors.
Meanwhile, JNU administration welcomed the court’s decision and said they hoped normalcy would soon return on the campus.
A picture of the JNU entry register doing the rounds on Twitter on Thursday showed that Zee News and ANI reporters entered the university on February 9 with the reference of the rightleaning student body ABVP.
Zee News is under fire for allegedly showing doctored clips, which reportedly formed the basis for Delhi Police to slap sedition charges on some students, including JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar.
The picture of the February 9 entry was tweeted by Aniket Prantadarshi who described himself as an activist.
“JNU security register 9 Feb shows ZEE news & ANI reporters got entry thru Saurabh Sharma ABVP. Doctored videos?,” tweeted Prantadarshi.
It was retweeted by JNUSU vice-president Shehla Rashid.
The Left- leaning JNUSU, which held that the presence of the news channel during the February 9 event was orchestrated, claimed the entry details exposed the “conspiracy of the doctored videos”.
University rules require outsiders to quote a reference to enter the campus, and ABVP leader Sharma said he helped journalists to come in.
“That is true I had facilitated their entry. But they came because at around 4 pm as I had sent an invitation of a protest against the February 9 event. (I) had even informed in the release that we have complained about the matter to dean, proctor and vice-chancellor,” said Sharma.
JNU teacher Kamal Mitra Chenoy also questioned the credibility of the videos.
“It was clear that they were doctored videos for weeks. The police cover-up, allegedly backed by the ABVP, should be exposed, as well as the role of the media,” said Chenoy.