For every voice raised in anger, there will be a Gurmehar Kaur: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi: Congress Vice President Rahul Gandhi on Monday expressed his complete support towards Lady Shri Ram College student Gurmehar Kaur, who has allegedly received rape threats over her social media campaign in support of students of the Delhi University following unrest in Ramjas College.
"Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our students. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance there will be a Gurmehar Kaur," tweeted Gandhi.
Gandhi's comments come in the wake of the Centre accusing the Opposition, especially the Congress, of giving a political tinge to the developments over the Ramjas College clash.
Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Venkaiah Naidu had blamed the Congress for politicising the issue.
"I'm surprised about the efforts made by the Congress and the Left to give a different colour to the issues that are happening in a few universities, saying that it is an assault on freedom of expression. Certain misguided and misleading sections are trying to mislead the young population and create social tensions and hurt sentiments of the Indian people," Naidu said.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) today wrote to the Delhi Police seeking swift action against the miscreants who harassed Gurmehar.
Speaking to the media DCW Chief Swati Maliwal said, "She (Kaur) has sent us screenshots of how some boys are continuously threatening her with rape online. The DCW has taken cognisance of the situation and we have written a letter to the Delhi Police, seeking an immediate FIR against these miscreants, so that they are put behind bars."
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Pratap Simha had earlier compared Kaur with fugitive underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, while Union Minister Kiren Rijiju tweeted to suggest that Kaur was being influenced by someone or a group.
A clash had broken out between the All India Students Association ( AISA) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidhyarthi Parishad ( ABVP) on February 21 after the members of the latter staged a protest outside Ramjas College against an event that had Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Umar Khalid as a speaker.
The two-day seminar was organised by Wordcraft, the Literary Society of the College, on 'Cultures of Protest' a series of seminars exploring representations of dissent in literary productions.
According to the college authorities, the event was cancelled to maintain peace in the campus.
