Kanhaiya Kumar denied entry in House: Congress asks if he is a terrorist

The opposition Congress on Wednesday raised the issue of JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar being refused entry into the visitors’ gallery of Maharashtra Assembly here, saying he was not a terrorist and in a democracy anyone can watch the House proceedings.

Raising the issue through a point of information, Congress MLA Nadeen Khan said there was no obvious reason for not allowing Kumar, who had a valid pass, in the Assembly.

“Is Kanhaiya Kumar a terrorist that he wasn’t allowed,” Khan, a former minister, said. Speaker Haribhau Bagade told Khan that he will seek details of yesterday’s incident. Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan termed the incident as “shameful”.

“He is not a terrorist. In a democratic set-up, anyone can come and watch the proceedings of the law-making bodies.  There must be a probe as to who ordered him to be stopped,” Chavan said.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union leader was in the city yesterday to attend an anniversary function of Peasants and Workers Party (PWP) of India.

“I wanted to watch the proceedings of the Vidhan Sabha here. I specially wanted to listen to the debate on the issue of Vidarbha. But I was not permitted inside,” Kanhaiya Kumar had said yesterday.

He said he possessed a valid visitor’s gallery pass duly issued by the authorities, but the legislature security barred his entry, and he later left for Raigad district.

“They said my entry is ‘on hold’. When I asked them to clarify, they had no reply. I wanted to watch the democratic process and had all the necessary permissions and a pass, yet I was stopped,” he had said.