Kejriwal supports those who raised anti-national slogans in JNU: Javadekar

Hitting out at Arvind Kejriwal for not giving sanction to prosecute former JNU Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar in a sedition case, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Thursday accused the Delhi Chief Minister of supporting those who allegedly raised "anti-national" slogans in the university in 2016.

Coming down heavily on Kejriwal and his government for not giving sanction to prosecute Kumar and others facing sedition charges, Javadekar said that despite repeatedly being asked by the court about the permission, the chief minister was not granting it.

"Court is repeatedly asking the Delhi CM that when will you give permission to prosecute those who raised anti-national slogans. But we can say that the CM is supporting those people who raised the slogans," he said.

Javadekar, who is the minister for information and broadcasting and environment and climate change, said, "It is clear from Arvind Kejriwal's attitude that he supports such statements otherwise he would have granted the sanction."

The Delhi Police had on Wednesday informed a city court that the request for sanction to prosecute Kumar and others was pending before the Home Department of the Delhi government.

The police had informed that it had done its part and was now awaiting the decision.

On January 14, the police had filed a charge sheet in the court against Kumar and others, including former Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students Umar Khalid and Anirban Bhattacharya, saying they were leading a procession and supported seditious slogans raised in the JNU campus during an event on February 9, 2016.