After being named in Delhi Police’s charge sheet on Monday, 14 January, for sedition in a row that flamed controversy in Jawaharlal Nehru University in February 2016, Former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar has termed the move "politically motivated". Kanhaiya has clearly stated that the filing of the charge sheet, which comes on the heels of general elections – barely three months away – shows it is a politically motivated move.
“If the news is true that a charge sheet has been filed, I would like to thank police and Modi ji. The filing of charge sheet after three years, ahead of elections clearly shows it to be politically motivated. I trust the judiciary of my country,” Kanhaiya said.
“However, we want the charges to be framed and a speedy trial in the case so that the truth comes out. We also want to see the videos that have been placed on record as evidence by the police,” Kanhaiya told PTI.
‘Congratulations for Waking Up After 3 Years’
Reacting to the reports of sedition charges against him, former JNU student Umar Khalid said it has taken the Delhi Police, the home ministry and the government to wake up from “their deep slumber three years after the incident took place” but “barely three months before the general elections 2019”.
Khalid, in a Facebook post wrote, that all those named in the charge sheet want to say categorically that they reject the charges and will contest them by taking a legal route.
Kanhaiya, 9 Others Named in Delhi Police’s Charge Sheet
Delhi Police on Monday, 14 January, submitted a 1,200-page-long charge sheet in the Patiala House Court against 10 people – naming former JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya – from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who were accused of sedition.
The matter is scheduled to be heard on Tuesday.
The evidence submitted by the Delhi police includes 10 videos in a CD. The police in their investigation has interrogated 90 witnesses who were allegedly present in the varsity during the event.
Others named in the charge sheet include former JNUSU vice president and student leader Shehla Rashid and Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja’s daughter Aparajitha Raja.
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