Published 15:59 IST, September 9th 2019
JNU sedition case: Meenakshi Lekhi asks AAP govt to clarify stand
BJP's Meenakshi Lekhi has demanded Kejriwal-led AAP government's stand in the JNU sedition case. Delhi government is yet to decide on prosecution sanction.
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Days after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said his government is yet to decide on granting prosecution sanction in the 2016 JNU sedition case, BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi on Monday demanded he makes clear if his dispensation "favours those who want to break India". At a press conference, the MP from the New Delhi constituency wondered if the Kejriwal government had an "understanding with those who raised the controversial slogans" on the JNU campus in February 2016.
Meenakshi Lekhi demands Kejriwal govt's stand on JNU
"They were raising slogans against the hanging of Afzal Guru, against India. Only terrorists can talk in such language. The Kejriwal government should make clear if it is standing with those who want to break India," Lekhi asked. She also wondered if the Aam Aadmi party was "considering fielding these people in the upcoming assembly elections".
The Kejriwal government is causing interruptions in the judiciary's work, she alleged. Citing provisions in the law, she said the JNU incident was a fit case to slap sedition charges. In February this year, a city court had lashed out at the Delhi government over the delay in granting requisite sanctions to prosecute former JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar and others in the sedition case, saying they cannot sit on the file indefinitely.
The JNU sedition case
Following the JNU sedition case timeline; on April 3, the AAP government had informed the court that it would take a month to decide whether to grant sanction to prosecute Kanhaiya Kumar and others. Later, on April 5, the Delhi Government had submitted a reply before the Special CBI court. This reply showed that the Delhi Police had filed the charge sheet in the case in a "secretive" and "hasty" manner, without obtaining approval of the appropriate authority. And subsequently, on July 23 this year, Delhi Police was granted time till September 18 to obtain the requisite sanction in the JNU sedition case.
The police in its January charge sheet claimed that there were videos wherein Kanhaiya Kumar was seen leading a group of students. According to the sheet, a few witnesses also identified the group of students raising anti-national slogans on the JNU campus. The police have charged Kanhaiya Kumar, Umar Khalid, and Anirban Bhattacharya for raising 'anti-national slogans' during an event organised in college. This event had been organised to mark the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
14:21 IST, September 9th 2019