Jammiat e Ullema Hind organised a confrence to promote national integration, opposition leader,G.N.Azad attended

New Delhi, March 12: The criticism of government action against the students of the reputed Jawahar lal Nehru University, dominated the discourse at a conference called by the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, one of the foremost Islamic organisations in India. The conference that took place in New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi stadium was attended by 50-60,ooo people from various minority communities. The conference was held with the purpose of discussing the issue of national integration.
Umar Khalid’s father SQR Ilyasi on Saturday said that the government had no other issues to target and they were making a scapegoat out of his son and his son’s friend, Anirban Bhattacharya. “It’s shameful that even after 68 years of Independence, we are still seeking Azadi (freedom), ” he said. He also said that University students are still shackled and tribals and Dalits are still struggling to be heard. The confernce saw the united voice of a lot of minority community leaders come together and speak up agianst the arrest of Khalid and Bhattacharya, who are still behind bars. Congress member and Opposition leader Ghulam Nabi Azad also hit out against the Narendra Modi government, demanding the release of the arrested students. The event that is organised every couple of months also saw prominent politician and CPM member Mohammed Salim, attack the government and Rashtraswayamsewak Sangh, saying that they chant the name of Lord Ram, but they have people like Nathuram (Godse) amongst their ranks. This comes even as a probe panel investigating the February 9 event, submitted its final report to the University authorities on Friday.
Meanwhile, Anirban Bhattacharya’s father Dr Nanda Madhav Bhattacharya also spoke up the first time after his son was arrested. In a tete-a-tete with popular news website Scroll, Dr. Bhattacharya said that he had full faith in his son and that he would never do anything that was ‘anti-India’. In the interview, Bhattacharya had opened up about his son’s childhood and his affinity for the poor. “It is unbelievable for me that my son is or can be anti-national. Even if he has with some others defended something [idea or their position on an issue], I don’t believe he can be labelled as anti-national”, Bhattacharya said.