Opposition parties demand proof that LeT supported JNU protests

Opposition parties have said that Home Minister Rajnath Singh must provide concrete evidence for his claim that the 9 February protests at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi, against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, had the support of Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, reports The Indian Express. Three days after the protests, JNU Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar had been arrested on charges of sedition.

Though the home ministry said that Singh made his statement based on intelligence inputs, opposition parties want proof.

"The charge is very serious. The Government of India will have to give foolproof evidence. A mere statement dubbing the students as anti-national and having the support of Hafiz Saeed or LeT or any other foreign organisation, without any basis or proof, will prove disastrous for the government and the student fraternity across the country," said Ghulam Nabi Azad, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha.

He added: "The government and BJP must spell out whether only those associated with BJP, RSS and ABVP are nationalists and the rest are anti-nationals."

Sitaram Yechury, general secretary of the CPI(M) showed just as much concern. "We hope that he has concrete proof. Considering the gravity of the charge made by no less than the union home minister, we would like him to share the evidence with the country. When we met the home minister yesterday, he never mentioned Hafiz Saeed to us, but only harped on the slogans being raised at the protests."

Omar Abdullah, former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir said on Twitter: "That #HafizSaeed supported the #JNU protests is a very serious charge to level against the students. The evidence must be shared with all." In another tweet, he said: "Cracking down on students & using #HafizSaeed to justify the crackdown is a new low, even for this NDA government."

Azad said the issue would be raised in Parliament during the budget session.

Singh made his statement a day after the Delhi Police had quoted a tweet purportedly from Hafiz Saeed that said: "We ask our Pakistani Brothers to trend #SupportJNU for our pro-Pakistani JNUites brothers." The handle from which this tweet was made, @HafeezSaeedJUD, turned out to be a parody account.

In Allahabad on Sunday, Rajnath Singh had said: "I also want to make it clear that the JNU incident has the support of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed. We should also understand this reality that Hafiz Saeed has supported this incident and it is extremely unfortunate."