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February 17, 2016

India: The thought police - - BJP lines up 'pride' push

The Telegraph - February 17, 2016



The thought police

- BJP lines up 'pride' push
THE ‘TWO LINES OF THOUGHT’ COINED BY DELHI TOP COP

A man who identified himself as a CPI worker, who was awaiting the court appearance of JNU students’ union leader Kanhaiya Kumar, runs after being beaten up by a group of lawyers in the Patiala House Courts complex on Monday. The man approaches a police posse posted in the court complex and pleads with the uniformed personnel to help him

The pursuers are closing in on the man but the police seem unmoved. The man flees through the gates. The police personnel are rooted to their positions.  Neither did the police help the man nor did they arrest any of the attackers. Pictures by Yasir Iqbal
New Delhi, Feb. 16: Far from repentant, the BJP will launch a countrywide campaign from February 18 for three days in an attempt to gain traction from the JNU stand-off.
The programme will be called the "Jan Swabhimaan Abhiyan (People's Self-Pride Campaign)", said BJP general secretary Bhupender Yadav.
The party's central office has directed all units right down to the blocks to hold " jagrans" (all-night awakenings) and "chaupals" (street-corner gatherings) and sing " desh bhakti gaan" (patriotic songs).
The programme will disseminate one message. "Should India stand with the JNU traitors or the patriots? Let people pronounce their verdict," BJP vice-president Prabhat Jha said.
"Our focus will be JNU, Afzal Guru's hanging, the anti-national slogans raised by some students and most important, the open association of Rahul Gandhi with such forces. We will hammer home the last point," Jha said. "The positive theme will be the need to preserve the country's nationalist ideology, unity and integrity."


Till Tuesday night, the police had neither named any suspect nor arrested anyone. “The police were a mute spectator to this brazen display of violence,” says a petition filed by a JNU alumnus in the Supreme Court. The apex court said it would consider the petition on Wednesday.