Father’s soul weeping to see girl misguided: Rijiju
Union minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju on Tuesday continued to stoke the controversy over Gurmehar Kaur by referring to her father, an army officer who was killed in Kashmir.
The Delhi University student has, however, pulled out of her protests against the ABVP after being bullied and trolled on social media.
“She is a martyr’s daughter. His soul must be weeping that his daughter is being misguided by those who celebrate on the bodies of martyrs,” NDTV quoted Rijiju as saying.
Kaur, whose father Captain Mandeep Singh was killed in Kashmir in 1999, said on Sunday she was called an anti-national and threatened with rape for her campaign against the right-wing students’ body.
On Tuesday, Kaur withdrew from ‘Fightback DU’ campaign and requested that she be left alone. In a series of tweets, the Lady Shri Ram College student said that she has shown enough courage and bravery.
The ABVP is the students’ wing affiliated to RSS, the ideological mentor of the BJP to which Rijiju belongs. The student body was linked to February 22 violence at DU’s Ramjas College.
In subsequent interviews to television channels, the junior home minister said he was not commenting on 20-year-old Kaur. “She has her own freedom, own thoughts. Shouldn’t make controversy (sic),” he said.
Rijiju alleged “leftists celebrate when our soldiers die,” in the interviews seeking his reaction to Kaur’s tweets saying she was withdrawing from the protests. “I want to give a message to leftists, don’t want to say anything to the girl,” he added.
Meanwhile, Dr NK Kalia, father of Kargil martyr Captain Saurabh Kalia, on Tuesday expressed support to Kaur, but the retired scientists said “he disagrees with her viewpoint”.
“I strongly condemn the way she was targeted on social media. This is shameful. This is not our culture,” said Kalia, who is fighting for justice to his slain son.
Captain Saurabh Kalia, was brutally tortured and killed in captivity along with his five comrades by Pakistan forces during 1999 Kargil conflict.
“This is not acceptable in a country where country women are revered as goddesses,” said Dr Kalia, while talking to Hindustan Times, demanding a strong action against the elements who threatened Kaur.
Though kaur withdrew from her social media campaign against the ABVP , hundreds of students and teachers of Delhi University, JNU and Jamia on Tuesday hit the streets with a call to “save” the varsities from the “onslaught” of ABVP and “curbing” of dissent.
The students held posters with messages like “Your nationalism is not above our democracy”.
The protesters, mainly comprising students of left forums like AISA, shouted slogans “ABVP Go Back” and “Azaadi” as the march made its way through the roads of North Campus towards the Arts Faculty building. The gates of the colleges falling on the route of the march, which began from the gates of Khalsa College, were shut.
“We are marching to reclaim the space to debate and discuss. It is about the freedom to coexist, yet disagree,” a student said.