New Delhi: Union Minister General VK Singh hit out at Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar for inviting people who raised anti-national slogans in the campus.
"I don't know if Kanhaiya Kumar raised anti-India slogans. But if these kind of slogans were raised in Harvard, they would land in Guantanamo Bay," said Singh while speaking exclusively to CNN-IBN.
Kanhaiya Kumar has been charged for reportedly organising an event protesting the hanging of 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru at JNU campus on February 9. He has been sent to judicial custody till March 2.
Here are excerpts from the interview:
CNN-IBN: You know JNU crackdown, you know that some of the lawyers (people wearing black robes) beaten up journalists. They have beaten up the accused in this case Kanhaiya Kumar. Even though Delhi Police report does not say that he was the one who raised anti-India slogans. What do you have to say, what's going on. Lawyers are beating up journalists, they are beating up accused at a time when we have BJP government.
VK Singh: I will start by saying if you hear anti-slogans, what is all this. No country in the world, a person can abuse the nation and get away with it.
CNN-IBN: Who chanted these slogans? The report does not say that Kanhaiya Kumar chanted these slogans and he's being arrested and slapped with sedition.
VK Singh: I'll put it this way. Something goes wrong in CNN, who will be responsible. Let say you have done something wrong, won't your head be responsible or whosoever organised the event be responsible. Responsibility is there. How did the Kashmiri separatists slogan start in JNU. Who were these people. Were they people would have come from Kashmir. Slogans were typical - Mufti, Mehbooba - these names were taken. 'Hum kya chahte hai azaadi' typical valley slogans -- where did they come from. Were they students of JNU or were they some great invitees.
CNN-IBN: But sir that's exactly what I'm saying that there has to be an inquiry before an arrest of a student, who has not chanted these slogans, is made?
VK Singh: Exactly. I don't know whether Kanhaiya has chanted or not but there is a responsibility of a person who has organised it. Was he the one who has invited these people. And if he had not invited them, how did they come there and why was he there.
CNN-IBN: Can people not question Afzal Guru's hanging in this country. Perheps there is a fine line between sedition and freedom of speech.
VK Singh: Let me ask a very simple question from all these people who are questioning it. Was Afzal Guru hanged without a trial. Did the law of land not apply to him, was he hanged in secrecy, what is the answer. No. He was hanged after he was tried, he was given all the chances by law, his clemency petition was seen by the President of India and he was hanged as per the law of the country. So all these people who are asking these questions today, my counter-question to you is -- what you are saying is law of this country is incorrect.
CNN-IBN: Do you see this also impacting BJP's relationship with the PDP?
VK Singh: I don't know. If a party is wise enough and I'm talking of PDP now - it must steer clear of this. You cannot work in tight compartment to say for this purpose I'm with the country, for this purpose I'm with the separatists. Sorry, it doesn't happen that way. We are all nationalists.
CNN-IBN: Are you justifying the lawyers beating up the journalists?
VK Singh: You look at what is happening. You look at immediately after this you have a large strike at JNU, you have another sympathetic detonation at Jadavpur. What is this happening. Similar type of slogans -- where are we as a nation and in universities which are highly subsidised by the state.
CNN-IBN: But they say this is our freedom of expression.
VK Singh: I'm so sure that if you have to do this in Harvard and the Americans were to do it, they would have landed in Guantanamo Bay.
CNN-IBN: This student Kanhaiya Kumar has been slapped with sedition. He is now being sent to judicial custody. You are saying his fault is he invited and he was in-charge of that event. That's why he is being sent to prison. What about these lawyers who have beat not only Kanhaiya but also journalists?
VK Singh: Somebody will take action. Somebody will file FIRs. Ther is a law in this country, let's not jump around. Ok, this has happened - immediate action must be taken. Even Kanhaiya, whatever police slapped it on him has taken a number of days.
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