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JNU row: Kejriwal writes to Modi, demands action against OP Sharma
A scuffle broke out on Monday as JNU students union president Kanhaiya Kumar who was arrested on sedition charges last week was produced in court.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi following an attack on journalists in the premises of Patiala House court.
A scuffle broke out on Monday as Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students union president Kanhaiya Kumar who was arrested on sedition charges last week was produced in court.
BJP leader OP Sharma denied taking part. He told reporters he was only “rounding up those who raise pro-Pakistan slogans” outside the court.
Read: I have been like this only: Why India cannot afford an OP Sharma
“Front pages of almost all newspapers on Tuesday have published the photograph of BJP MLA OP Sharma beating up a youth in full public view outside the court premises. His statement that if he had a gun he would have shot such people has also been published,” Kejriwal said in his letter.
Calling for immediate action to be taken against lumpen and anarchist elements who attack journalists, Kejriwal said it would give a clear signal that such activities will not be tolerated.
“OP Sharma is an MLA of the BJP and it must also take action against him. I feel even if you once call this MLA and scold him, he will not dare to repeat his actions again in life. If that is not done, then such elements feel they have the complete support of the central government,” the Delhi CM wrote in his letter.
“Nobody can be allowed to take the law in their hands and if public representatives, who swear in the name of the Constitution, do so, then the country is headed towards a serious crisis,” he added.
Read: JNU protests: Pak daily calls it the new, ugly face of Modi’s India
Expressing concern over incidents that have taken place in Delhi, Kejriwal urged PM Modi that political interference in JNU and other academic institutions should be immediately stopped.
“It is extremely dangerous that the JNU incident is being portrayed to show this institution as a terrorist centre. The JNU and its students have achieved fame at the international level due to its high academic standards and the hard work of its students,” the letter read.
Kejriwal said that the police administration of Delhi is directly under the Centre’s control and the former has miserably failed in JNU row.
“I request you to give strict instructions so that the confidence of the people of Delhi in the police can be restored. People are waiting with desperation for you to break your silence and intervene to bring the situation under control,” the letter read.
