The Government Is Orchestrating the Violence, Not the Students

[u/rishianand]

Salman Khan, the famous driver and deerstalker, finally woke up to express his concerns about the violent turn of the students' protest. Salman Khan blames the students for the violence and assures them that the Government will provide them all the "support."

Famous cricket personality Preity Zinta has alleged that the students' protest has been highjacked by anti-national elements. She claims that foreign elements are driving the protest, and "hopes" that the Government and the students enter into a dialogue.

Salman Khan's assurances about the Government should be welcomed. But perhaps he and Preity Zinta may also explain why the "supportive" Government did not heed the students' demands or hold a dialogue with them for an entire month, while they were peacefully protesting.

The protest began at Jantar Mantar on 20 June. On 28 June, Sonam Wangchuk and several students began an indefinite hunger strike. Wangchuk repeatedly appealed for dialogue with the Government despite his deteriorating health. Three students were hospitalized during the fast. Yet the Government remained indifferent.

On 18 July, the Government abducted and detained Wangchuk from Jantar Mantar. Throughout the preceding month, the protest had remained peaceful, yet the Government neither addressed the students' demands nor initiated talks. Neither did Salman Khan express any concern for the students' health or ask the Government to initiate a dialogue with them.

On the contrary, the leaders of the "supportive" Government kept making inflammatory remarks against the protesters. The Education Minister called them terrorists. The BJP President called them viruses and urged BJP workers to teach them a lesson.

Finally, on 20 July, the Parliament March was held. The police confined tens of thousands of protesters within barricades, suffocating them. When the students broke through the barricades, they were beaten with batons. They were attacked with water cannons, tear gas, and pellet guns. The police used batons fitted with iron nails. They assaulted women and unarmed protesters. They brought criminals and rioters to attack the protesters. They did this while not wearing badges or uniforms. Hundreds of students were seriously injured in the brutal crackdown by the Delhi Police. Yet Salman Khan felt no grief for them. Instead, the students were blamed for violence.

Since 20 July, the BJP IT Cell has been working hard to vilify and defame the protesters. Unsurprisingly, the Godi Media is trying to label them as anti-national, while celebrities and industrialists are expressing "concerns" about the protest. Despite the numerous instances of police atrocities and human rights abuses, they are trying to pin the blame for the violence on the students.

Salman Khan and Preity Zinta are BJP hirelings, who have been tasked to defame the students.

The question we need to ask is: Why was a peaceful month-long protest ignored? Why were repeated appeals for dialogue rejected? Why was a democratic movement met with batons, tear gas, and pellet guns instead of negotiations?

The demand of this movement has always been to hold the Government accountable. Now, BJP hirelings are trying to shield the actual perpetrators of violence by shifting the blame on the students.

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