On Saturday evening, no sooner had the gathering to celebrate the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan concluded, the media personnel began to gather around and question one among the students who was carrying a placard that called for the release of Umar Khalid, Sharjeel Imam and the 16 Bhima Koregaon accused, who he said were political prisoners.
The police were tipped off, and soon after they arrived and took the student for questioning, even as a crowd gathered outside the police station demanding his release. As news of the detention spread, members of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, the youth wing of the BJP, gathered outside the police station and there ensued a scuffle between the protesters and the BJYM, who held a sit-in of their own demanding the prosecution of the accused.
To be clear, the police have not arrested the protester who was holding the placard. Instead, he was detained under preventive clauses of the BNSS, under which the police can hold an individual under preventive detention for up to 24 hours if they fear a breach of peace. It was another protester who was booked and released later on Saturday night under bailable sections after a member of the BJYM alleged that she was abused.
It must be noted, however, that, at least officially, the protester identified as Mohammed Danish was not arrested for holding the placard calling for the release of Umar Khalid but under preventive sections. The reality is that he was singled out and targeted because of his placard by self-styled defenders of the ‘nation’ who allegedly took offence to it and made sure the police were left with no choice but to take cognisance and detain the protester.
Demanding the release of Umar Khalid or any other prisoner is no offence, and such speech is squarely protected under the right to freedom of expression as guaranteed by the Constitution. Khalid, who is still facing trial, has been branded as an ‘anti-national’ by those aligned with the BJP; he is an accused in a case that is widely believed to be based solely on political propaganda with no real substance to support the allegation that he actually incited riots in Delhi more than five years ago. Nonetheless, he has been reduced to being a poster boy by the BJP and allies in a bid to demean the current student protests.
In fact, such messaging was even evident in the resignation letter submitted by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Pradhan’s resignation letter is devoid of taking responsibility or accountability, and clearly states that he’s doing so only “so that anti-national forces do not take advantage of this situation, so that the country’s unity is preserved.” It is clear then that the BJP, right from the top, is attempting to push the messaging that the protests have ‘anti-national’ elements associated with it.
This is nothing but an effort by the BJP to discredit the protests, something that they have so far failed to do given the broad-based nature of the protests, largely made up of members of their core constituency. But that hasn’t stopped the BJP from trying. It has been eager to paint everyone who opposes them as not being merely against the ruling government but against the nation itself. Opposing the ruling government is a democratic right; raising slogans against the decisions of a government is the safety valve of a democracy. It's time the BJP and its various arms understand that attempts to shut off these valves using old tropes will not succeed any more.
