Tharoor visits Jamia, JNU, Shaheen Bagh; says CAA against Mahatma Gandhi's ideals of unity

Expressing solidarity with those protesting against the amended citizenship act, Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Sunday visited Jamia Millia Islamia and Shaheen Bagh and said that the law was against the ideals of unity espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.

Tharoor later travelled in metro to reach JNU where he addressed the students and condemned the violence by a masked mob on January 5.

He said the December 15 police action against the students in Jamia is a "blot on the nation". After visiting the university, he visited Shaheen Bagh to express solidarity with the protesters.

Terming the Citizenship Amendment Act "discriminatory", Tharoor asserted that it is against the ideals of unity espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.

"Whatever happened on December 15 is a blot on nation. Without any provocation, without any intimation to the vice chancellor, they (police) entered hostels and attacked women students. Students studying in library were attacked, which is a 'shame, shame, shame' and not acceptable at all," he told the crowd.

Attacking the act, the Thiruvananthapuram MP said the Centre's step is discriminatory and an effort to marginalise "one community". "That is why we opposed the introduction of the bill in Parliament, as it brought religion in the Citizenship Act for the first time," he said.

Tharoor said he did not want any section of society to be reduced to second class citizens. "We shall stand for the values we cherish and for the humanity, and above all we should stand for Bharat (India)," he added.

Tharoor, who addressed the crowd in Hindi and English said, "Religion was nowhere mentioned in the Citizenship Act until the BJP-led government incorporated it in the CAA. This is not something we can accept."
Tharoor also recited a couplet, "Na mera hai, na tera hai... Yeh Hindustan sabka hai... na samjhenge yeh baat toh nuksan sab ka hai..."
Remembering poet Muhammad Iqbal, with his statute standing tall nearby in the varsity campus, Tharoor recited his famous poem, "Mazhab nahin sikhata apas men bair rakhna... Hindi hain hum, watan hai Hindustaan hamara.."