(Image source from: Smriti Irani rebuts opposition with facts})
HRD Minister Smriti Irani led the government's charge in Parliament and made a factful statement in Lok Sabha, saying that Kanhaiya Kumar and some other students had been found indulging in anti-national activities by the JNU authorities themselves. She took on the Opposition and made an emotional pitch with regard to the suicide by Dalit student Rohith Vemula of Hyderabad University.
Irani insisted that her ministry had no role in Rohith's death and that the deceased himself had said in his suicide note that nobody should be held responsible for his action. A combative Irani said she was being targeted by Congress for contesting against Rahul Gandhi in Amethi Parliamentary constituency. Irani pointed out that during the last 20 months as minister, she tried to do justice to students by trying to address their complaints without asking for their "caste or religion".
Citing documents, she said, report by JNU's security people observed that some students were indulging in anti-national sloganeering even though the students had sought permission to hold a "poetry" event.
Irani appeared well-prepared to deliver a shock and awe counter strike on the Opposition benches as she was armed with loads of documents to supplement her claims. From official notes, books to radical left literature, she was equipped with all weapons that were needed to prove her point.
She targeted Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi by first talking about how Atal Bihari Vajpayee had called former prime minister Indira Gandhi "Durga" after 1971 war victory against Pakistan and the following liberation of Bangladesh. "
She charged Rahul and other opposition leaders of playing politics over Rohit Vemula's dead body. "Have you ever seen Rahul Gandhi go to a place twice? Six hundred young boys died in the Telangana agitation. Did Rahul Gandhi visited even once?
Irani pointed out that a leaflet distributed by Umar Khalid, Anirban Bhattacharya and Kanhaiya Kumar on 10 February called India a "murderous republic" (because of Afzal Guru and Yakub Memom's hanging). The minister also quoted from another poster Mahisasur Martyrdom which went on to the extent of calling Goddess Durga as a "sex worker" for tricking Mahisasur into marriage and slaying him later.
"Is this freedom of speech? I want to know if Rahul Gandhi, Saugata Roy or Saugata Bose would like to discuss this freedom of speech. I fail to understand the depravity of these so-called students," Irani said.
The effect of her speech was such that Home Minister Rajnath Singh complimented her on floor of the House. After today's speech in Parliament, Irani's detractors may have reasons to feel even more bitter about her, but she did hike her importance both in the RSS-BJP hierarchy.
By Premji
