Those On Bail Are Not Olympic Heroes, Says Anupam Kher At JNU

New Delhi: On the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus for the screening of his film this evening, actor Anupam Kher today said, 'People who are out on bail cannot be welcomed on campus.'

His remarks came hours after JNU students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, arrested last month for their involvement in a controversial event in support of terrorist Afzal Guru, were granted bail by a court. The two are yet to be released.

Their supporters, including JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested for his alleged participation in the same event, are planning a unity march on the campus tonight. "Someone who has returned on bail is not an Olympic hero," Mr Kher said.

The court in its order, granting the two six months' interim bail, observed that "both are highly educated persons."

Addressing a gathering on the campus minutes before the screening of his film "Buddha stuck in a traffic jam", Mr Kher said, "I want the focus shifted back from kranti (revolution) to desh bhakti (nationalism)." As he spoke, a few people in the gathering shouted "Bharat Mata Ki Jai" slogans.

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Last week, Mr Kher had alleged that the JNU authorities had refused to screen his film. The university responded by saying he had never made a request - verbal or written - for the film to be screened.

 

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