JNU row: Yechury meets Rajnath, demands release of arrested student leader

New Delhi, Feb 13: Communist Party of India-Marxist General Secretary Sitaram Yechury on Saturday met Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh regarding the JNU campus incidents and demanded the release of a student leader arrested over sedition charges.

Delhi Police on Friday arrested Jawaharlal Nehru University Student Union (JNUSU) president Kanhaiya Kumar here on charges of raising anti-India slogans during a demonstration on the campus to mark the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

"We apprised home minister that whatever is happening is worse than that happened during the emergency. It should be proved that the 20 people, who are being targeted, are at fault," Yechury told media after meeting Singh.

"Home minister guaranteed us that action won't be carried out on any innocent person. We demanded him to release the arrested student leader to which he assured us to look into the matter," Yechury added.

JNU students on Tuesday had organised a meet to mourn the hanging of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) co-founder Maqbool Bhat, where anti-India slogans were raised.

Another commemorative meeting was held at the Press Club of India in Delhi on Wednesday where also anti-India slogans and placards were raised.

IANS