Highlights
- Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray expresses support for Kanhaiya Kumar
- Says Rohith Vemula, Hardik Patel, Kanhaiya sign of BJP alienating youth
- Alliance with BJP based in 'Hindutva': Uddhav Thackeray
Uddhav Thackeray, the chief of BJP ally Shiv Sena, came out in support of JNU student union leader Kanhaiya Kumar, and indicated that the BJP is alienating the youth of the country. Mr Kumar today alleged that a co-passenger, who is a BJP supporter and an employee of IT firm TCS, had
attempted to strangle him in a plane - a claim the Maharashtra police have said is "exaggerated".
"Rohith (Vemula) has gone, you have declared Hardik anti-national and now Kanhaiya too has been declared anti national. We must guide them," Mr Thackeray said in Nashik. "We must focus on the fact that our country is young and youths are the future of this country."
Distancing himself from the Centre's stance towards the student leader, who had been charged in a sedition case, Mr Thackeray further said, "Our coalition (with the BJP) was based on Hindutva and it was necessary for both of us."
JNU student leader Kanhaiya Kumar today claimed that a man tried to strangle him on a Jet Airways flight.
The Sena has never been slow off the mark to attack partner BJP. Last week, when the Uttaranchal high court removed President's Rule in Uttarakhand, it said the verdict proved that the union government acted out of "political selfishness".
Mr Kumar's arrest had made international headlines in February. Critics took it as an instance of the government's interference in campuses and crushing of dissent - a charge the government has denied.
Mr Kumar had since taken on the Centre and PM Modi repeatedly in a series of speeches.
He has been hailed as a promising young leader by the CPI. Bihar Chief Minister and JD(U) leader Nitish Kumar has also hailed him as a rising star. He also had support from Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, whom he met after his release from jail.
The student leader -- who is currently demanding a law against caste discrimination named after Rohith Vemula - has been touring academic institutions around the country. Rohith Vemula, a Hyderabad university scholar, had committed suicide in January alleging that he was being discriminated against for being a Dalit.