Stating that “only the power of the people can bring Najeeb Ahmed back,” Delhi Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday urged all those present at the solidarity meeting for the missing student to take the protest outside the JNU campus.
“Let us all sit in protest at India Gate and invite student delegations from across the country to come join. The day the Central government realises that it does not have the youth’s vote, Najeeb will be back among us,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
He said since the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) was involved in the incident, the Delhi Police will not carry out proper investigation and even the Jawaharlal Nehru University Vice-Chancellor will be “scared” to take action against the ABVP because even he could go “missing” if he did so.
The Chief Minister said the situation in the country over the past one-and-a-half year had become such that if anybody raised their voice against the RSS, ABVP or BJP, they are either “anti-national and go missing”.
“If Najeeb was Ambani’s son, Modi ji would have taken a flight to visit him... but this will not attract his attention.”
He told those present at the meet that they were not doing anybody any favour by showing solidarity and seeking justice for Najeeb because it could happen to anybody.
“Tomorrow my son could go missing. I can draw comfort from the fact that all of you present here will be with me like you are here for Najeeb.”
Attacking the BJP directly, Mr. Kejriwal said Najeeb did not disappear because he is Muslim. “The BJP is neither a party for the Hindus nor Muslims. They will even sell their own father for the sake of power. They have attacked Patidars who have voted for them for 40 years in Gujrat, attacked Dalits and have even beaten up grieving family members of a former soldier.”
However, it was not Mr. Kejriwal’s speech that had the most impact on the gathering at the solidarity meeting held at Freedom Square.
Instead, it was a few minutes of uncomfortable silence, pierced by the sound of agonising wails from Najeeb’s mother when she broke down. Her heart-wrenching, helpless cry, “it has been 20 days...where is my Najeeb. Why can’t anybody find my Najeeb?” that left many in the audience in tears.
Also speaking at the meeting, Prakash Karat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) likened the situation in the country to that of an “undeclared Emergency”.
He said even during the period of Emergency in India, JNU did not surrender when the police entered the campus. He urged students to stay united and support the JNU Students’ Union through these testing times.
“The regime is out to suppress democratic ideas and destroy the very ethos of the university,” Mr. Karat added.
Congress leader Sashi Tharoor said there was need for probe by an independent agency without the influence of the V-C or Delhi Police into the violence that took place on October 14, the night before Najeeb disappeared.
Mani Shankar Aiyar from the Congress said when he studied at Delhi University 40 years ago, the campus was a different place. “Now, that the APVP has come to power, they have changed the face of DU. The APVP is trying to do the same at JNU,” he added.
The meeting was addressed by other speakers including Kavita Krishnan, K.C Tyagi, the family of Minhaj Ansari, who was killed in custody in Jharkhand in connection with a message about beef on WhatsApp, and members of the JNU academia.
Earlier in the day, terming the frequent sit-ins, public functions, and protests outside the Administration Block at JNU as violation of university rules and “even rulings by the highest judicial body in the country,” the administration urged the students and teachers to “discourage obstructive politics and protests”.
‘Violation of rules’
“Despite all efforts, pamphlets, posters, demonstrations, dharnas, unlawful confinement and offensive sloganeering have been going on to spread lies and to blame the administration and make unreasonable demands. Attempts are being made to disturb the normal functioning and conduct of academic activities including examinations,” the appeal said.
