Will Fight Politically, Legally Sedition Case Against Kanhaiya Kumar: CPI

The CPI on Saturday said it will fight both “legally and politically” the sedition case against its leader Kanhaiya Kumar and alleged that the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national capital had “succumbed to political pressure”. The Delhi government on Friday gave a go-ahead to the city police to prosecute former JNUSU president Kumar and nine others in connection with a four-year-old sedition case, as the ruling AAP denied the persistent BJP charge of blocking the proceedings in the matter.

“The national secretariat of the Communist Party of India (CPI) will fight legally and politically the sedition charges against party national executive member and former president of the JNU Students’ Union (JNUSU) Kanhaiya Kumar.

“The party is confident that Kanhaiya Kumar will come out unscathed as the charges are false and politically motivated,” the CPI said in a statement.

The party feels that it is unfortunate that the Arvind Kejriwal government has “succumbed to political pressure and granted permission to prosecute Kumar”, it said.

“It may be recalled here that the chief minister (Kejriwal) himself had in the beginning said that there is no case of sedition against Kanhaiya and videos were doctored. We are yet to ascertain why this sudden change of heart has happened,” the statement said.

The party said that it will soon secure a copy of the Delhi government’s standing counsel’s recommendations which had not given sanction for the prosecution.

“The party vehemently opposes the move to implicate Kanhaiya Kumar in a false sedition case and urges all its units and mass organisations to protest peacefully against the prosecution move,” the statement said.