Kanhaiya says not a politician, only a student

Yechury wants him to campaign for Left in Bengal election

Even as Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) President Kanhaiya Kumar, who was released from New Delhi’s Tihar jail on Thursday, said he is only a student and not a politician, CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury has declared that the fire-brand student leader will be campaigning for the Left in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls.

Kumar, whose fiery speech on his return to JNU, garnered much praise and applause from students and politicians, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, said he was simply the elected representatives of the students of JNU and is not “thinking more than this”.  Kumar was addressing a press conference on Friday.

Meanwhile, Yechury told ANI that “all students supporting Left will participate in the campaign along with Kanhaiya. For the first time, the nation can see the power of the youth of Left.” Answering the media’s questions Kumar clarified that JNUSU was against anything which was beyond the constraints of the constitution. “We strongly condemn what happened on 9th. It's for Court to decide if that was ‘raaj droh’ or not. We’ve faith in judiciary. Constitution is not a video that can be doctored. Truth will win and dark clouds will go away,” he said. Kanhaiya also said that for him Afzal Guru is not an icon, Rohith Vemula is.

He also declined from commenting on his case, saying the matter was still sub-judice  and it would be improper for him to comment.

However, he said: “Let me assure all the taxpayers that JNU students can never be anti-nationalist. Your hard earned money is not being wasted through subsidising our education. There should be more JNUs from the subsidy money, so that other students from poor backgrounds can complete their PhD and can fight for the country.  There are some dark clouds but they will not be able to hide the new red sun and the blue skies.”

Kumar went on to compare the death of Rohith Vemula and the farmers’ suicide with jawans losing their lives at the border, saying these were all martyrs sacrificing their lives for the good of the country. Soldiers fight for the country and students are fighting for their rights, Kumar said. “JNU is a real voice of the country. Not just Indians, but students from 145 countries are here.… Of 4,500 bureaucrats, 2,500 have emerged from JNU. We should fight against those trying to malign the image of this university and create a binary amongst us.”  

"Afzal Guru is not my icon, Rohith Vemula is", he added, while asserting that there is huge difference between treason and being anti-government.