JNU row echoes at all party meeting convened by PM

The unending row over the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) issue found an echo at an all-party meeting called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. The Opposition leaders spoke against the sedition case slapped on the arrested student leader, while the government asserted that slogans raised by students were “highly objectionable”.

The government said it is open to debating the JNU row in Parliament during the upcoming Budget Session, starting February 23. Modi said the government would address the concerns raised by the Opposition.

During the meeting Opposition parties raised a host of issues, asserting that Modi is the Prime minister of the entire country and not only a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member. It is the first-ever meeting of political parties convened by Modi ahead of a Parliament session.

“We will respond to the issues raised by the Opposition and address them... I hope the congenial mood here will be translated into action in Parliament,” Modi told the meeting.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said there was a general consensus that Parliament should run smoothly.

With the BJP targeting the Congress over its support to “anti-nationals” in the JNU row, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad said his party “disassociates” with all those students, who shouted slogans attacking India’s unity and Constitution. However, he insisted that there was no proof of sedition against Kanhaiya Kumar, the arrested JNU Students’ Union president. “There is no proof of sedition against him,” he said. Azad also hit out at BJP leaders for “defaming” the party leadership with their “anti-national” jibe and stressed that the government should restrain them.

Azad said the atmosphere in the country has been vitiated ever since the BJP has come to power and its government has taken no action against people responsible for it.

Naidu shared the Opposition leaders’ concern over the use of terms like “anti-national” and also spoke about ‘Hitler’ jibe made at the Prime Minister as he noted that all parties should show restraint.

“The government will discuss every issue under rule. We have no objections. The government is willing to walk the extra mile... Let there be an open debate about what happened in JNU, the posters used there...Some said cops should not have gone there. The mood was very good and cordial. It was also said that a section of media is blowing things out of proportion,” he said.

The meeting also saw the Trinamool Congress (TMC) pushing for the passage of the much-awaited GST Bill, Naidu said.

JD(U) Chief Sharad Yadav said Parliament must run and all issues debated there.

Azad, joined by senior Congress leader Anand Sharma, claimed that his party was always of the view that Bills should be passed on merit, but if there is a stalemate in Parliament, then the government must find out the reasons and address them.

“If people holding the constitutional positions are vitiating the atmosphere in the country, then it will find a reflection in Parliament. Had action been taken against them, then many things that we see today would not be happening,” he said.

Defending Kanhaiya, Azad said he did not speak against the Constitution and the country’s integrity. “His arrest on the charge of sedition is unfair...Action should also have been taken against those who vitiated the country’s atmosphere,” he said. 

Congress leaders also spoke about a Dalit scholar’s suicide at the Hyderabad Central University and “pressure” brought to bear on him allegedly at the behest of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students’ wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Arunachal Pradesh Governor’s decisions, leading to the imposition of President’s Rule in the state, was also raised.

Asked about his party’s stand on the GST Bill, Azad said the Bill was not under discussion in the meeting.

Naidu said the customary all-party meeting ahead of the session will take place on February 22, in which the crucial Bills and other issues related to the Session will be discussed.

Azad welcomed Modi’s move to invite leaders of various parties for the meeting. 

Naidu said all parties spoke in one voice that Parliament should function. “Frustration is rising among people due to stalemate in Parliament... Issues are not being debated,” he said.

In a veiled dig at the Congress, he said the Opposition party spoke about the atmosphere in the country but other parties said there should be no “ifs and buts” and Parliament should function.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley explained the government’s stand on the JNU row and spoke about the slogans and posters related to the event, calling them highly objectionable. Shiv Sena MP Anand Adsul said there was a general consensus at the meeting that Parliament should run smoothly during the session.

The Left leaders said they raised several issues, including “what is happening at universities”, the President’s Rule in Arunachal Pradesh and sought the Prime Minister’s intervention.

“Most of the Opposition raised the issue of what is happening these days at universities. Even the CPI (M) office was attacked, Sitaram Yechury was threatened, CPI’s D Raja is being threatened,” CPI(M) leader Mohd Salim said.

CPI National Secretary D Raja asked Modi if the Home Minister was acting on his own or he has the approval of the entire government for action against JNU students.

Raja said the Prime Minister did not give any assurance but promised to look into the issues.

“If so many things are happening around, then naturally noise and sound will be heard in the temple of democracy (Parliament). The bell will ring in the temple,” Salim added.

TDP MP Thota Narasimha said the Prime Minister and the Parliamentary Affairs Minister have requested all parties to ensure smooth functioning of the House.