Democracy under attack in country: Kanhaiya

Hyderabad, Mar 24: JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar today vowed that he would keep up his fight against casteism, and economic inequalities but ruled out him campaigning in the coming Assembly polls.

Kumar, who was denied entry into the Hyderabad Central University (HCU) yesterday when he came to express solidarity with the students fighting on the Rohith Vemula issue, had to face unpleasant moments today when a man threw a shoe at him in a seminar on "Constitutional rights".

A man sitting in the audience threw a shoe at Kumar but it missed the target and fell just ahead of the stage.

The seminar was organised at Sundrayya Vignana Kendram (SVK) at Baghlingampally here, a building run by Left parties. Police took away the man even as commotion prevailed in there for sometime.

The meeting continued after the incident. The HCU, which witnessed violence after Vice Chancellor Appa Rao Podile took charge two days ago, remained peaceful today. The HCU non-teaching staff, who had gone on a strike protesting vandalisation of VC's lodge on March 22 allegedly by a group of students, resumed their duties today.

Members of HCU Non-Teaching Staff Union had boycotted duties from Tuesday afternoon in protest against ransacking of Appa Rao's official residence (VC's lodge) allegedly by the group of students who were opposing the VC resuming his duty.

Kumar, who resumed his speech after the shoe-throwing incident, alleged that democracy is under attack in the country.

"Today, whoever it is, be it Marxists, Ambedkarites, Socialists, Lohiaites or Centrists, today all types of people are under attack.Because, democracy is coming under attack today," he said.

PTI