Heated debate in Delhi Assembly over Ramjas violence

The violence at Ramjas College reverberated in the Delhi Assembly on Tuesday with the ruling AAP and opposition BJP legislators getting into a heated debate over "supporting anti-nationals", while the rape threats issued to Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur were denounced by Delhi Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra.

Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba started the discussion in the assembly and played the video of Gurmehar Kaur in which she holds placards against the violence in Delhi University and another one saying "Pakistan did not kill my father, but war did". Kaur had launched a social media campaign against the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad.

The opposition MLAs loudly objected to playing of the video in the assembly.

While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLAs accused the Aam Aadmi Party of supporting Kaur and JNU students Umar Khalid and Kanhaiya Kumar -- both accused of sedition -- the AAP in turn accused the BJP of instigating violence in universities by having ABVP activists raise anti-national slogans.

Delhi Tourism and Culture Minister Kapil Mishra, raising the issue of Gurmehar Kaur, said in the assembly that the "morale of soldiers protecting the borders goes down when the daughter of a martyr gets rape threats".

Mishra also said that the morale of soldiers is lowered when a trooper demanding implementation of the One Rank One Pension (OROP) scheme has to commit suicide and another has to post a video on social media for getting a proper meal.

--IANS

am-vv-rak/rn