Sena backs action against JNU student Sharjeel Imam
The Shiv Sena, in the editorial of its party mouthpiece Saamana, has backed the Delhi Police’s action against Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) student Sharjeel Imam for allegedly making anti-national remarks.
In the editorial on Thursday, the party also advised the Union home ministry not to play politics and “immediately finish insects” like Sharjeel Imam. The piece mentioned that if “political venom” is used to give rise to terrorism, then such incidents would keep occurring.
Sedition charges were slapped against Imam, who was arrested from Jehanabad in Bihar on Tuesday after multiple videos surfaced allegedly showing him making incendiary remarks and threatening the integrity of the Indian state. In one purported video, Imam is heard calling for Assam and the entire northeastern region of India to be separated by laying siege to the ‘Chicken’s Neck’ – a narrow stretch of highway in Siliguri that connects northeast India with the rest of the country.
“Sharjeel’s speech was not only provocative but also against the country… By making such a speech, Sharjeel has lowered the heads of [the] Muslim community in the country... Therefore the home ministry should not play politics over this and immediately finish such insects,” the editorial said.
The Sena said that Imam’s speech has given the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ammunition to use in its Delhi Assembly election campaign and claimed such divisive politics threatens the social and religious unity of the country. “There is a conspiracy to create a class struggle, endless chaos and civil war, like [in] Iran and Afghanistan. Efforts are being made in a political laboratory,” the editorial said.