The arrest and charges of sedition against the Jawaharlal Nehru University Student's Union president, Kanhiya Kumar, saw an outpouring of solidarity from several students on Saturday. There are several protests planned across the city today as well.
They were joined by politicians too. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, Rajya Sabha MP and CPI(M) member Sitaram Yechury, CPI member D Raja, and Ajay Maken of the Congress were some of the leaders who attended the protest.
The numbers swelled up--roughly 1,500 people showed up.
Watch the video here:
In a note, a JNU student, Swati Moitra, shared a few notes of the 'public meet' in a Facebook post:
"If there’s one thing to be said for JNU, it’s this: when the university community is under threat, we band together.
And so it’s unsurprising that a sea of people greeted the speakers at the ad block today, speaking in once voice as they called for the release of the JNUSU president, Kanhaiya Kumar, the removal of all charges against the students, and the expulsion of the Delhi Police from the campus," she wrote.
Moitra listed out the things that happened at the JNU protest on Saturday.
Even as the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today ordered a magisterial probe into the JNU incident, there are several protests that have been planned for the day across Delhi.
JNU has planned to organise a human chain the University campus.
Jawaharlal Nehru University Teachers' Association (JNUTA) will hold a press event at 4 pm at the JNU campus followed by a human chain formation to express solidarity.
A couple of activists have organised an event at Jantar Mantar to condemn "the high-handedness of the state apparataus". The event will take place at 4.00pm. More about it here.
The Delhi Police arrested Kumar after reports that students had chanted “divisive” slogans at an event on Tuesday organised to discuss the execution of Parliament attack-accused Afzal Guru, and the right to self-determination for the people of Kashmir.
The police also raided a number of hostels at the JNU campus to find the students who were seen chanting “seditious” slogans in footage of Tuesday’s event.
Seven more students were detained on Saturday in connection with the case.
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