Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of a martyr, said she was threatened after her Facebook post on ABVP
Highlights
- She alleged rape threats after her Facebook post on ABVP went viral
- Her post followed after clashes last week in Ramjas College
- While Kiren Rijiju criticised her in tweets, Rahul Gandhi supported her
A Facebook post by a soldier's daughter, Gurmehar Kaur, against BJP-linked student outfit ABVP over campus violence is at the centre of a huge political row. The Delhi University student has two women constables for protection after she complained about death and rape threats.
The 20-year-old has been trolled relentlessly since she posted a profile picture holding up a placard saying: "I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me. #StudentsAgainstABVP".
Her post followed clashes last week at the Ramjas College over Jawaharlal Nehru University student Umar Khalid being invited to a literary event. The invite was cancelled after ABVP (Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad) activists allegedly barged in and vandalized the college, shouting protests against Umar Khalid, who was accused of sedition last year.
"There are people out there, very famous people calling me anti-national. I just want to say they don't understand patriotism," Ms Kaur, a student of the Lady Shri Ram College, told reporters.
"My dad took bullets for India, I am also willing to take bullets," she declared hours after
Union Minister Kiren Rijiju appeared to criticize her in his tweets.
Mr Rijiju, like many others including former cricketer Virender Sehwag and actor Randeep Hooda, seized on a previous post by the student in May. In the video, which went viral, Ms Kaur had appealed for peace between India and Pakistan with a series of placards; one of them read, "Pakistan did not kill my dad, war killed him." Another lawmaker of the ruling BJP, Pratap Simha, compared Gurmehar to terrorist Dawood Ibrahim.Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi came out in Ms Kaur's support, tweeting, "Against the tyranny of fear we stand with our students. For every voice raised in anger, intolerance and ignorance there will be a Gurmehar Kaur."