<p> Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar on Friday sought to put an end to speculation about his political aspirations, saying that he is not “PM of the country”, but “only a student”. <br /><br /></p>.<p>“So I will not run away from your questions,” he said, addressing the media a day after Delhi HC granted him bail. <br /><br />The 29-year-old PhD student, who was booked on charges of sedition following the controversial February 9 event, said the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was a citizen of India and a debate on his death penalty doesn’t flirt with “limits on freedom of speech”. But he added: “Afzal is not my hero, Rohith Vemula is.” <br /><br />Vemula, the University of Hyderabad scholar who committed suicide, became a rallying point for JNUSU-led ‘OccupyUGC’ movement against scrapping of non-NET fellowship for scholars. He quoted from 3 Idiots movie and said, “I am not a politician, I am a student.” Accusing the government of using pre-colonial law as a “political tool”, he said there is difference between “deshdroh and rajdroh”. <br /><br />“The people of the country have not voted for me; it is the students of the university who have. I am not the country’s president but of the JNU Students’ Union. I’ll only talk of them and for them,” he said. The half an hour long press conference saw a few disruptions when Kanhaiya supporters tried to corner journalists who were apparently trying to solicit his reactions on the High Court’s order that directs him to “control anti-national activities on campus”.<br /><br />“We will defeat those who are destroying the soul of our Constitution,” he said and deflecting questions on the arrest of Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, the two co-accused arrested in connection with the February 9 event where ‘anti-India’ slogans were allegedly raised. <br /><br />Kanhaiya launched an offensive against the RSS-affiliated ABVP’s idea of “Akhand Bharat”. “I’m against patent-wadi, nationalism cannot be anyone’s patented idea,” he said.<br /><br />Kanhaiya warned his supporters of “divisive and false binaries”. “Students of JNU are patriotic not anti-national,” he said, assuring the “taxpayers of this country” that the JNU is a “custodian of democratic space in the country”.<br /><br />The JNUSU president told media that JNU’s fight to reclaim the democratic space will be a long drawn plan. “There can’t be a victory march but a unity march on that,” he said.<br /><br />“Problem is that the government of the country has become the government of one party. Not one party but one office,” he said in a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<br /><br /></p>
<p> Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Kanhaiya Kumar on Friday sought to put an end to speculation about his political aspirations, saying that he is not “PM of the country”, but “only a student”. <br /><br /></p>.<p>“So I will not run away from your questions,” he said, addressing the media a day after Delhi HC granted him bail. <br /><br />The 29-year-old PhD student, who was booked on charges of sedition following the controversial February 9 event, said the 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was a citizen of India and a debate on his death penalty doesn’t flirt with “limits on freedom of speech”. But he added: “Afzal is not my hero, Rohith Vemula is.” <br /><br />Vemula, the University of Hyderabad scholar who committed suicide, became a rallying point for JNUSU-led ‘OccupyUGC’ movement against scrapping of non-NET fellowship for scholars. He quoted from 3 Idiots movie and said, “I am not a politician, I am a student.” Accusing the government of using pre-colonial law as a “political tool”, he said there is difference between “deshdroh and rajdroh”. <br /><br />“The people of the country have not voted for me; it is the students of the university who have. I am not the country’s president but of the JNU Students’ Union. I’ll only talk of them and for them,” he said. The half an hour long press conference saw a few disruptions when Kanhaiya supporters tried to corner journalists who were apparently trying to solicit his reactions on the High Court’s order that directs him to “control anti-national activities on campus”.<br /><br />“We will defeat those who are destroying the soul of our Constitution,” he said and deflecting questions on the arrest of Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, the two co-accused arrested in connection with the February 9 event where ‘anti-India’ slogans were allegedly raised. <br /><br />Kanhaiya launched an offensive against the RSS-affiliated ABVP’s idea of “Akhand Bharat”. “I’m against patent-wadi, nationalism cannot be anyone’s patented idea,” he said.<br /><br />Kanhaiya warned his supporters of “divisive and false binaries”. “Students of JNU are patriotic not anti-national,” he said, assuring the “taxpayers of this country” that the JNU is a “custodian of democratic space in the country”.<br /><br />The JNUSU president told media that JNU’s fight to reclaim the democratic space will be a long drawn plan. “There can’t be a victory march but a unity march on that,” he said.<br /><br />“Problem is that the government of the country has become the government of one party. Not one party but one office,” he said in a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.<br /><br /></p>
