Mumbai civic body workers have offered to pay my fine:Kanhaiya

New Delhi, Apr 30: JNU student union president Kanhaiya Kumar who is out on bail in a sedition case today claimed that contractual labourers of Mumbai Municipal Corporation have volunteered to pay the fine slapped on him by the varsity in connection with the February 9 event.

"Contract labourers of Mumbai Municipal Corporation hv collected 10K to pay my fine. We will not pay the fine and fight the unfair HLEC of JNU. But our solidarity long live! Chatra, Mazdoor, Kisaan ekta Zindabad!," he said in a series of tweets.

The 29-year-old research scholar, who is among those on an indefinite hunger strike in protest against punishments awarded by JNU for involvement in the event, is in Patna today for a student meeting. He also visited his family in Begusarai.

Following the Patna visit he has plans to go to Kerala to campaign for a fellow JNU student who is in the fray for May 16 elections. Kanhaiya along with Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya were arrested in connection with an event on campus against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. They are now out on bail.

On basis of the recommendations of a university probe panel, JNU had earlier this week announced punishments against several students in connection with the event.

While Kanhaiya has been slapped with a penalty of Rs 10,000 on grounds of "indiscipline and misconduct", Umar, Anirban and Kashmiri student Mujeeb Gatoo have been rusticated for varying durations.

Financial penalty has been imposed on 14 students. Hostel facilities of two students have been withdrawn and the university has declared the campus out of bounds for two former students. ABVP member Saurabh Sharma, who was complainant of the event, has also been slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 for blocking traffic.

25 students including 5 ABVP members are sitting on indefinite hunger strike since Thursday in protest against the punishments. Bollywood director Vivek Agnihotri, who has claimed the plot of his film Buddha In A Traffic Jam is similar to the ongoing controversy at JNU, had also offered to pay fine of Saurabh.

PTI