JNU row: Journalists, students attacked

Students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), as well as journalists, were assaulted, allegedly by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members at a Delhi court on Monday.

The students and faculty members of the premier education institution were at the Patiala House courts to extend their support to Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar. Arrested on sedition charges on Saturday, Kumar was presented in the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Lovleen on Monday and his police custody was extended for two more days.

The controversy over Kumar's arrest and police action at the university campus - that had now become a major political crisis - was sparked by an event, reportedly in support of Afzal Guru, convicted and hanged for the December 2001 attack on Parliament, at JNU on February 9. Students had allegedly shouted anti-India comments at the event.

On Monday, a scuffle broke out among the students and teachers of the university and journalists who had come to cover the proceedings at the Patiala House courts, and a group of people in lawyers' robes.

Press Trust of India reported that BJP lawmaker O P Sharma joined the belligerent group and allegedly assaulted Communist Party of India activist Ameeque Jamai. Some journalists accused that their attackers threatened to break their "phones and bones", while the police did not intervene to protect them.

Many journalists' organisations, including the Delhi Union of Journalists, Indian Women Press Corps and the Press Club, condemned the attack and urged the government to take action. In a statement, the Editors Guild of India said: "Mobile phones were smashed by the lawyers who threw the journalists out of the court… The guild strongly condemns this attempt to intimidate the media."

The disturbance in the heart of the national capital only aggravated the crisis, which has darkened the cloud over the Budget session of Parliament, to begin on February 23. The death of Dalit scholar Rohith Vemula and the National Herald case could also be used by the Opposition to scuttle House proceedings, just ahead of elections in a number of states this year.

It has already turned into a slugfest, with the BJP and the Sangh Parivar protesting what they call "anti-national activity at JNU". In a blog post, Amit Shah, the party president, accused Congress Vice-President Rahul Gandhi, who visited the JNU campus on Sunday, of backing "anti-national forces".

Rahul Gandhi responded by saying the BJP was stoking fires of divisive politics.

EVENTS SO FAR

• February 9, 2016: Some JNU students protest hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru; he was hanged in February 2013
• February 11: BJP Lok Sabha MP from East Delhi constituency Maheish Girri complains to Home Minister Rajnath Singh and HRD Minister Smriti Irani about the “anti-national” protests and lodges FIR
• February 12: Delhi Police arrests JNU Students’ Union chief Kanhaiya Kumar, leading to protests
• February 13: Kumar tells court he didn’t raise anti-India slogans, sent to police custody for interrogation to find his “links” with terror outfits; solidarity protests at JNU
• February 14: Home Minister claims JNU protests have links with Jamaat-ud-Dawa’s Hafeez Saeed; CPI(M) office in Delhi attacked by three men
• February 15: BJP MLA O P Sharma and some men in lawyers’ robes beat up journalists and students at Patiala House courts; Kanhaiya’s police custody extended; CPI (M) chief Sitaram Yechur receives threats for his support to Kanhaiya
• February 16: Protests planned in Delhi by various political groups from either side of the political divide, as well as by journalists

Nitish Kumar, the chief minister of Bihar, from where JNUSU President Kumar hails, and Bahujan Samaj Party chief Mayawati also expressed their support for the agitating students.

At the university, students continued to boycott classes. Their teachers' union has extended its support.

Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said action would be taken against the attackers.