Referring to slogans which called for war for destruction of the country and lauded terrorists who had been convicted by the highest judiciary, Jaitley questioned, "Can hate speech be called free speech?"

Opinion

26./02/2016.

 255.

All Members,

Respected family members of this great holy Nation.

Sub : BJP top guns put up fierce defence :

Ref : "The core question is, are we going to give respectability to those whose primary ideology is that they want to break this country," Jaitley said while intervening in the debate on 'Situation arising out of recent incidents in institutions of higher education with reference to JNU and University of Hyderabad'.


1. The Government on Thursday fielded it tops guns - Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, HRD Minister Smriti Irani - and its youth faces like Anurag Thakur and Dharmendra Yadav to unleash a fierce offensive on the Opposition on the JNU crackdown and Rohith Vemula's suicide, cautioning its political rivals not to wittingly or unwittingly side with elements who posed threat to the unity of the nation.

2.The Treasury Benches worked on a clear strategy to turn the entire debate on nationalism, focusing on the anti-India chants raised on the JNU campus and seditious posters put up to hail Afzal Guru.

3. While Dharmendra Yadav set the tone of the Government attack by detailing the content of slogans and posters and nefarious activities carried out by JNU students, Jaitley explained the rationale behind the crackdown from both political as well legal perspective.

Rajnath Singh denied charges made by KC Tyagi of the Janata Dal (U) that policemen in plain clothes entered the girls' hostel at JNU and tried to convince the Opposition that police have not given kid-glove treatment to lawyers who attacked journalists and JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar at the Patiala House Courts complex.


4. Smriti Irani, who stole the day in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after the Opposition gave her an open field by staging a walkout, faced a combative Opposition, which interrupted her at every stage, resulting in verbal duels and disturbance.

5. In her inconclusive speech, Irani made a strong defence of the Government's actions on JNU and suicide of Dalit student Rohith Vemula in Hyderabad University. Irani, who was ballistic in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, looked mellowed down in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday as she replied to questions raised on her performance as also that of the HRD Ministry under her. Irani said she had been "rightly" advised by someone to be calm.

6. Earlier, Tyagi asked her to keep her anger in control and not point fingers at the members. Criticising the way she addressed BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday, Tyagi asked her to keep the dignity of her position while taking in the House.


7. Irani's reply to the short duration discussion, however, was cut short as the House was abruptly adjourned after uproar over her certain comments which she made while alleging that some elements in JNU had published derogatory pamphlets about Goddess Durga.

8. As she narrated the descriptive details of the pamphlets, Anand Sharma of the Congress took objection, saying it could set a precedent and in future somebody else could repeat it with regard to Gods of other religions.

9. "What is happening here? This is too much. It's a dangerous precedent. Every religious leader and deity has been derogatorily referred by some persons. Will all this be discussed here? Can we allow it here? Then there will be a war in the House," Sharma said.

10. Irani insisted with her reference, saying it was imperative to counter the charge levelled against her. Responding to objections, Deputy Chairman PK Kurian said she has authenticated what she had said. "What can I do?" he said. With the Opposition remaining unrelenting, he adjourned the House till Friday.

11. Without naming Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, Jaitley flayed him for visiting the JNU campus in the aftermath of the controversial protest, saying it amounted to providing "respectability" to a movement whose charter was to break India.

12. He also suggested that the Congress, jointly with Left parties, had jumped into the issue "without giving prior thought" in view of the upcoming Assembly elections in West Bengal. Defending the entry of police into the campus, he argued that the campus was not a "sovereign territory" like some foreign embassy.

13. Seeking to turn the tables on the Congress, he cited a Parliament Question of 1983 in which the then Indira Gandhi Government had justified entry of police in JNU and arrest of 350 students, including 50 girls, after the Vice Chancellor was gheraoed.

14. He contended that the developments of February 9 on JNU were "much more serious" as he read out the pamphlets carrying anti-India material which were circulated on the campus.

15. "The core question is, are we going to give respectability to those whose primary ideology is that they want to break this country," Jaitley said while intervening in the debate on 'Situation arising out of recent incidents in institutions of higher education with reference to JNU and University of Hyderabad'.

16. Referring to slogans which called for war for destruction of the country and lauded terrorists who had been convicted by the highest judiciary, Jaitley questioned, "Can hate speech be called free speech?"

END.

 

Thank you for reading

 JAIHIND.

Next with another topic.