Kanhaiya video: Worse than emergency, says CPM; Opposition targets Bassi

Congress, CPI(M) and other Opposition parties have accused the Delhi Police and the Centre of shielding the culprits after CNN-IBN aired a video in which JNU students union leader Kanhaiya Kumar claims he was attacked at the Patiala House court in the presence of police personnel.

"This is the truth. This is how the system acted against the individual. Cognizance should be taken at the highest level," Congress spokesperson Tom Vaddakan said.

CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury said the video confirmed that the Centre was unleashing a police state on citizens.

"This is a vicious replay of what happened during the Emergency . While Emergency was an assault on democracy, this is an assault on both secularism and democracy," he told CNN-IBN.

Attacking Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi he said," If you have abdicated the responsibility to uphold law, you must be held responsible."

Former Chief Justice of India AM Ahmadi called the incident "unfortunate" adding that hooliganism at courts should not be tolerated.

Aam Aadmi Party's Ashutosh too targeted Bassi saying the police chief should be sacked instead of being allowed to retire. Bassi did not react to the video saying the matter was subjudice.

In the video exclusively accessed by CNN-IBN, Kanhaiya told the SC team that he beaten up and almost disrobed by lawyers in the presence of police personnel at the Patiala House Court premises on February 17.

The claim was made in a video shot by the Supreme Court appointed team that visited Patiala house court to report on the violence there.

He told the panel that police did not arrest the attackers even after he had identified one of them inside the courtroom.

Narrating the sequence of events, an emotional Kanhaiya told the SC panel: "The police brought me inside. And then a man in a lawyer's uniform attacked me, it looked like he was waiting for the moment, sitting in anticipation. The attackers were calling others to join them, shouting, 'he's arrived'. They were all attacking me, so much so that I was almost disrobed in the process."

This is the first statement on camera by Kanhaiya since the Patiala House court violence.

The alleged assault on Kanhaiya, JNU students and mediapersons by a group of lawyers happened when he was being presented in court.