AISA president Neha calls for focus on police accountability amid protest language row

All India Students’ Association (AISA) president Neha, who observed a 23-day hunger strike at the Jantar Mantar protest, has refused to apologise for or condemn the cuss-laden denunciations of the Centre made by many agitators, and accused critics of trying to divert attention from the alleged use of pellet guns and police force during the July 20 crackdown.

In an interview with PTI, Ms. Neha said the row over some of the protesters’ language is being used to subvert the issue of accountability over the police action on the Parliament march day.

Videos of protesters using abusive language have attracted political attention and police action against many since the protest ended.

A 15-year-old girl, whose expletive-heavy criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought her to the centre of the row and several FIRs against her.

Ms. Neha said legal action against the teenager is an instance of selective outrage.

“You find the profanity of words so abhorrent. Didn’t you find it abhorrent when Dharmendra Pradhan called peacefully protesting students ‘terrorists’? Did you file an FIR against him? When Nitin Nabin called us viruses, did anyone file FIRs against them?” the student leader said.

According to Ms. Neha, it’s not the language but the injuries suffered by demonstrators that should be talked about.

“First of all, the people who tell us to condemn this profanity, I am sorry. We will not play this game of yours. You are playing this game because we are asking for accountability from Amit Shah. We are asking for accountability from the Commissioner of Police. You feel that the pellet guns being used on students are a smaller issue and the statement given by Ruchika is a bigger problem,” she said.

“We are still seeking answers. Why did you use pellet guns on protesters on July 20? Why were security forces given pellet guns? Why were sticks covered with nails, with which protesters were injured?” she asked.

The activist also wondered why pejorative comments made against the agitators by the politicians were spared the same scrutiny.

“When your people use derogatory language from Parliament, and when an RSS ideologue says that ‘rape-loving women were protesting at Jantar Mantar’, that doesn’t sound profane to you,” she said.

Ms. Neha alleged that she and the 15-year-old girl received several rape threats on social media following the controversy.

“The repression has a gendered nature. Six FIRs have been filed against her, there are rape threats; this is the gendered nature of the crackdown on protesters,” she said.

She also claimed that attempts are being made to divide protesters along caste and religious lines to weaken their movement.

“The divisions of caste, religion and gender that already exist in society are now being replicated in the repression so that the unity of the movement can be broken,” she said.

Ms. Neha maintains that the movement does not seek to justify every word spoken by every protester but takes exception to the attempts to reduce the entire agitation to a debate over language.

“The issue before the country is not whether somebody used a bad word. The issue is whether common citizens protesting peacefully can be attacked with pellet guns and tear gas. That is what should disturb people,” she said.

Anti-paper leak agitators have alleged that police used excessive force, including pellet guns, against them during their peaceful march on July 20.

Delhi Police has denied the allegations, while the Centre has maintained that security personnel acted within the law.

Earlier this week, multiple FIRs were registered against the minor girl, including a Zero FIR lodged in Noida that has been transferred to Delhi Police for investigation.

The cases have been registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita relating to intentional insult, statements conducing to public mischief and defamation.