Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (UoH) has issued statement on BJP’s attack on media and students and faculty members of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Patiala House Court, Delhi. Reproduced below is the statement.
University of Hyderabad and JNU Reject Jingoism! Uphold Babasaheb Ambedkar’s Constutional Principles!
The slamming of false police cases on JNU students with charges of sedition, the arrest of JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, the not-so-shocking display of BJP MLAs, BJP MPs and BJP lawyers’ abominable behaviour outside Patiala House court in Delhi, the blatant physical assault on the students, professors and media while police stood as mute spectators, unable to provide any evidence to prove the anti-national charges against Kanhaiya Kumar, not granting bail to him, extending the police custody to two more days, giving a list of anti-nationals to the airport authorities to keep a check if they are trying to escape out of Delhi, asking the JNU students to vacate all the houses in Munirka and nearby places around JNU, Police cordoning off JNU campus, the continuing witch hunting and harassment of students, trying to intimidate and create fear in the minds of students and professors, the BJP government has left no stone unturned in violating our fundamental rights that are guaranteed to us by the Indian constitution.
At this end, in University of Hyderabad, we have been fighting the battle against the saffron brigade and the State machinery for more than a month. There is ample number of evidences and proofs to establish that Rohith’s murder was executed in a well-calculated manner. The counter affidavits filed by Commissioner of Police, Cyberabad and Inspector General of Police, DGP, Telangana on October 3rd and October 31st respectively, in response to Susheel Kumar’s mother’s writ petition clearly stated that Susheel Kumar’s allegations are baseless and false. It is also established that the BJP created undue pressure on the University administration and pushed for the order of social boycott that eventually led to Rohith’s death. The killers of Rohith were booked under SC/ST Atrocities Act and Abetment of Suicide on 18th January. While students of JNU have been targeted, witch hunted and arrested on false charges, the killers of Rohith are scot free. Both, in Hyderabad and Delhi, the legal process is being severely sabotaged by shoddy police investigation. On the one hand, in the case for #JusticeforRohith, the failure of police to provide evidence to the court has led to stay orders on the arrests of BJP MLC Ramachandra Rao and ABVP President Susheel Kumar. On the other hand, we see the fabrication of evidence by the Delhi Police and an attempt to disrupt the court proceedings by RSS goons in order to influence the case.
By killing Dalits, Adivasis, Muslims and people’s dissenting voices, the self-proclaimed custodians of “Indian culture” have declared themselves as defenders of “Nationalism”. This is nothing but a desperate attempt to safeguard the nefarious agenda of the RSS to promote Hindu Nationalism and term it as THE NATIONALISM which is being challenged by the dissenting voices and critical minds. The insecure saffron brigade and the State machinery has stooped down to such a level that they are having to promote unrest and polarization on communal and caste lines in an attempt to curb the autonomy of the Educational Institutes and scuttle people’s voices in the society at large that challenge their Brahmanical fascist agenda. The constitutional ethos are being time and again attacked by these right wing goons who ironically refer to the same constitution to brand pro-people struggles as anti-national in a bid to suppress them. The widespread uproar of the #JusticeforRohith struggle has dealt a severe blow and exposed their anti-people ideology. The entire episode of events that unfolded in JNU has only reaffirmed this inference.
We reiterate that we will continue to fight for #JusticeforRohith undeterred by their attempts to malign our struggle. We stand with the JNU community in resisting the draconian oppression and infringement of constitutional rights to freedom of expression and dissent. We demand the immediate and unconditional release of Kanhaiya Kumar. We demand demilitarization of JNU campus with immediate effect. We demand dropping of all the false cases slapped on the students. We demand for #JusticeforRohith. We demand the arrest of the killers of Rohith. We demand the immediate withdrawal of State machinery from Educational institutes. CHALO DELHI on 23rd February! Fight for Social Justice, long live! Inquilab Zindabad! Jai Bheem!!
Joint Action Committee for Social Justice (UoH)