Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) demands the immediate release of the JNU Student’s Union President Kanhaiya Kumar who was arrested under the charge of sedition without any evidence. It demands that this baseless charge against him and other students be withdrawn at once.

CITU strongly condemns the attacks on him by the RSS/ BJP goons at the Patiala House courts. Several other students, faculty members, journalists and advocates were also injured in the assault repeated for the second time within the court premises.

CITU deplores Delhi Police for its absolute negligence in effectively carrying out the Supreme Court direction to provide adequate security to Kanhaiya Kumar. The same incident of attack by some lawyers along with hooligans was again repeated on the second day when Kanahaya Kumar was brought to the Court premise. The Delhi Police, which functions directly under the Union Home Ministry, has not taken any action against the BJP MLA who has been caught on camera leading the physical attack on the students and media persons within the Patiala Court premise. These hooligans also tried to manhandle the team of senior lawyers sent by the Supreme Court to investigate the matter. This is in total contrast to the attempts to clamp down on the progressive and democratic student movement and malign a nationally and internationally renowned institution like the JNU, based on an isolated incident, which does not reflect the opinion of the vast majority of the students or the faculty. This clearly proves the premeditated move by RSS outfits in that game plan to attack progressive and democratic movement with the active support of the administration under BJP regime.

These are nothing but part of the nefarious design of the RSS to suppress progressive and rationalist thinking and forcibly impose its regressive ideology. These attacks are meant to silence dissent or any views opposed to its own in premier educational institutions, by the Modi led BJP government. Attack by various RSS outfits on the offices of Left parties and student organisations at different parts of the country during the span of last few days also expose their nefarious design.

This attitude to suppress opposition and attack those who hold different views has serious implications for the democratic and working class movements. In fact the entire game plan is to divert the attention of the people from the all round failure of the anti-people NDA regime having disastrous impact on the lives and livelihood the common people at large.

CITU warns these retrograde and reactionary forces that people’s voices cannot be silenced through such heinous attacks. It calls upon the working class and the trade union movement to unitedly thwart the attacks of the Hinutva forces on the democratic rights of the people and join the struggle to protect the JNU from the onslaught of the Hindutva forces.

Issued by
( TAPAN SEN )
General Secretary