After Hyderabad, JNU's Kanhaiya Kumar extends support to Pune students

Pune, Mar 28: JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar today accepted an invitation extended by a students' group in the city to take part in a discussion here. He also expressed solidarity with the students and called RSS and its affiliates as "anti-constitutional".

Speaking to media over the phone during a press conference organised by All India Students Federation and other organisations here, Kumar assured the students from Ranade Institute (Pune University's journalism college), Fergusson College and the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) that he will go to any city where students' rights were being suppressed and will stand by them.

"I express my solidarity and support for students community who have been fighting in Pune," he said during his brief phone conversation with reporters here. The situation in the country is very serious as the government is trying to snatch away the rights and freedom of students, he said.

"We have to get united against forces like RSS, ABVP and Bhartiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) to safeguard the democratic values and Constitution. ABVP, BJYM are the sections of RSS and are anti-Constitutional and against the judicial system, and trying to suppress students' voice in India," he said.

After the fracas at Fergusson College here during an ABVP-organised discussion on 'Truth of JNU', wherein a BJYM leader allegedly threatened the students of Ranade Institute that they would be thrashed if they invited Kumar, students from these two institutes and those from FTII came together and formed a joint forum to invite Kumar here. Dates of Kumar's visit would be soon decided, local AISF members said.

PTI