Three Bharatiya Janta Party MLAs were forced out of the Delhi assembly, on the first day of state’s budget, for raising the issue of JNU sedition case while Lt Governor Anil Baijal was making an address.
The MLAs, Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta, OP Sharma, and Jagdish Pradhan, alleged CM Kejriwal’s government of delaying the prosecution in the JNU sedition case, by withholding sanctions, required by the Delhi police.
The budget session of Delhi assembly will last for a week. The budget will be presented by the state’s finance minister Manish Sisodia on February 26. Then it will be followed by two-day long discussions.
Speaker Ram Nath Goel tried to pacify the agitated MLAs by saying that Lt Governor’s speech is not part of assembly’s proceedings, so the issue cannot be raised. But, the MLAs did not relent. Vijender Gupta continued to charge the government with allegations of deliberately delaying the prosecution. Subsequently, the MLAs were marshaled out of the assembly.
In February 2016, the students of JNU had organized an event to mark the anniversary of a terrorist Afzal Guru who had attacked the Indian Parliament. Many slogans challenging the Indian State’s sovereignty and calling for its balkanization were raised. At the event, slogans like ‘Bharat Tere Tukde Honge’ and Áfzal hum sharminda hain, tere katil jinda hain’ were captured in news reports.
Delhi police’s special cell had submitted a 1200 page charge sheet in Delhi’s Patiala House Court regarding the case, last month. It contained names of that time JNUSU leader Kanhiaya Kumar, Umar Khalid and several others.
However, as we had reported earlier, the court had asked the Delhi police to get the charge sheet sanctioned by the AAP led- Delhi government. But, it was revealed before the court that the Delhi government did not respond to the charge sheet after receiving it. According to Delhi police, first request to sanction prosecution was sent in 2016, and another request was sent in January this year.
