Union Minister Ananth Kumar visited the protest site of the ABVP in Bengaluru on Sunday.
Highlights
- ABVP's constitutional duty to book anti-nationals, said Ananth Kumar
- ABVP keeping up pressure with a 48-hour protest in Bengaluru
- Congress says slogan-shouting should not be considered anti-national
Union minister Ananth Kumar today visited the protest site of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad -- the student's body affiliated to the BJP ideological mentor RSS -- to show his support for their demands regarding the sedition case against India chapter of Amnesty International.
"It is their (the ABVP's) constitutional duty to book those who raised anti-India slogans. I think the state government should take action. There can't be doublespeak regarding patriotism, sedition," Mr Kumar told the media on the occasion.
The ABVP is keeping on its pressure with a 48-hour protest in Bengaluru regarding the sedition case filed on its complaint that anti-India slogans were raised during a programme on Kashmir it held last week-end. Amnesty has denied that any of its members were involved in slogan-shouting.
The BJP leadership has backed the ABVP in the case since beginning, with state part chief BS Yeddyurappa saying, "Patriotic people can't tolerate anti-national slogans. Karnataka doesn't have any space for people indulging in anti-national activities".
Two days after the case was filed, the Congress government of the state insisted that slogan-shouting should not be considered anti-national, following the comment of senior party leaders Veerappa Moily and Digvijaya Singh. Karnataka's home minister G Parameshwara said Amnesty did not do anything seditious.
The student body has support of some ex-servicemen, who say that Army was insulted at the meet too.
Colonel Rajan, one of the ex-servicemen present at the protest, told NDTV: "We have served the nation for 30 years. It gives us pain to see people raising anti-India and anti-army slogans. Severe action should be taken against those who raised those slogans."
Another retired serviceman, Brigadier Murthy said, "We are genuinely hurt by such statements. My humble request is that all political parties should come on one platform and condemn the comments made by Amnesty International."
On Thursday, Amnesty asked its more than 80 employees in the city to work from locations other than office on the advice of the police. A day later, ABBP activists attempted to enter the Amnesty office and were lathi-charged.