Arun Jaitley on Gurmehar Kaur row: Nationalism is a bad word only in India

Arun Jaitley said that debate on 'nationalism' was not started by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however he maintained that the saffron party would definitely join the debate.

New Delhi, Mar 2: Expressing his views on the ‘nationalism’ debate triggered after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) stopped JNU’s Umar Khalid from participating in a conference at Ramjas College, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said nationalism is a bad word only in India. Arun Jaitley said that debate on ‘nationalism’ was not started by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however he maintained that the saffron party would definitely join the debate.

“Nationalism is a good word. It sounds bad only in India,” said Arun Jaitley. Protest erupted following disruption of an event themed ‘Cultures of Protest,’ at Ramjas College where Umar Khalid, who was charged with sedition, was invited to deliver a speech. The All India Students Association (AISA) and the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) engaged into a scuffle over cancellation of Umar Khalid’s talk at Delhi University’s Ramjas College. (ALSO READ: Those supporting Gurmehar Kaur should be sent to Pakistan: BJP minister Anil Vij)

The protest turned into a full-blown war when Gurmehar Kaur, daughter of Kargil war martyr, launched campaign against the ABVP. The age old debate of nationalism came into the open after former cricketer Virender Sehwag and actor Randeep Hooda mocked at Gurmehar Kaur. Sehwag had earlier tweeted an image of himself holding a placard that said, “I didn’t score two triple centuries, my bat did.”

The image was an aimed at trolling Gurmehar Kaur, who in a video posted on youtube held a placard that said, “Pakistan did not kill my father, War did.” Actor Randeep Hooda had supported Sehwag’s tweet by saying, “Your tweet is even greater than a triple century.” Kaur said she was withdrawing from the social media campaign she launched against the ABVP, after being threatened with rape and death.

BJP ministers such a Kiren Rijiju and Rajnath Singh are of the view that Gurmehar Kaur should focus on her studies. Rijiju had even said that Gunmehar’s mind was polluted and she was being politically motivated. Gurmehar’s grandfather Kanwaljit Singh on Tuesday threw his weight behind her, saying she had done no wrong. Her teachers at Lady Shri Ram College also rallied to her defence.