Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has issued a strong statement after slogans targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah were allegedly raised during a protest on campus, calling the act “provocative” and a violation of institutional norms.
JNU Chief Security Officer Naveen Yadav on Tuesday, January 2, wrote to the Delhi Police, urging the registration of an FIR over what the university described as objectionable and deliberate sloganeering. The letter requests action under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
The controversy erupted on Monday night during a protest held to mark the sixth anniversary of the January 5, 2020 attack on the JNU campus, when certain slogans were allegedly raised against the Prime Minister and the union Home minister.
JNU Marks Anniversary Of 2020 Campus Violence
The protests coincided with the sixth anniversary of the January 5, 2020 violence at the JNU campus, when masked attackers assaulted students and teachers inside the university premises.
Observing the day, JNU described the incident as a “brutal attack” and alleged that those responsible remain unidentified even years later, claiming the attackers continue to be “masked” as no arrests have been made.
Objectionable slogans like ‘‘Modi, Shah ki qabr khudegi, JNU ki dharti par’ were raised in the campus.
The Chief Security Officer has requested the Station House Officer of Vasant Kunj (North) police station to lodge an FIR and initiate further action in connection with the incident.
Congress leader said, ‘This is a way of expressing anger.’
Congress leader Udit Raj, while commenting on the slogans against PM Modi and Amit Shah, said that this is a way of expressing anger.
In his statement, Raj mentioned,
This is a way of expressing anger. The anger is against the Supreme Court’s decision in the larger conspiracy case of the 2020 Delhi riots in JNU. This is being done to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam because they are Muslims. Injustice has been done to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. The SC’s decision is very unfortunate.
Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam Denied Bail
In a significant judicial and national development, the Supreme Court has denied bail to 2020 riot accused Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam but granted it to 5 others. For those unversed, the February 2020 riots in northeast Delhi left 53 people dead and more than 700 injured. Notably, the update that is getting more attention is the decision of the Supreme Court not granting bail to activists Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam. It should be noted that Umar and Sharjeel have spent five years in jail without bail.
The Court cited ‘hierarchy of participation’ and said that all the accused do not stand on the same footings thus granted bail to Gulfisha Fatima, Meeran Haider, Shifa Ur Rehman, Mohd Saleem Khan, and Shadab Ahmed, with conditions but refused the same to Khalid and Imam.
What happened in 2020 riot?
Communal violence erupted in northeast Delhi on February 24, 2020, amid protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens. The clashes continued for several days and turned into one of the deadliest episodes of violence the capital has seen in decades.
More than 50 people, most of them Muslims, were killed, and over 700 others were injured. Investigators later alleged that the unrest was the result of a larger conspiracy rather than spontaneous violence.
Twenty individuals, including Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and former Aam Aadmi Party councilor Tahir Hussain, were booked for their alleged roles in planning and inciting the riots.
Also Read| Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam Denied Bail in 2020 Delhi Riot Case, Five Other Accused Gets Relief
