On Thursday, a former JNU leader Umar Khalid shared a tweet in which he claimed that PM Manmohan Singh had faced protests by JNU students.
He also mentioned in his tweet that the former prime minister was also shown black flags when he visited the varsity in 2005. The former student leader then went on to claim that hours after the protest, the PMO had intervened and asked the university administration to not be too harsh with the students.
Check out the post:
In 2005, Manmohan Singh faced black flags in JNU as a protest against his economic policies. It became a big news. The admin immediately sent notices to students. The very next day, PMO intervened & asked the admin not to take any action as protest was students’ democratic right.
— Umar Khalid (@UmarKhalidJNU) January 9, 2020
PM Manmohan Singh facing sloganeering and black flags from student protestors began his speech by quoting Voltaire, “I may not agree with what you say, but I will defend to death your right to say it.”
Then and Now!!
— Umar Khalid (@UmarKhalidJNU) January 9, 2020
However, few Twitter users questioned the claim. So, are Umar Khalid’s claims that Manmohan Singh faced protests, was shown black flags but asked the administration to be lenient true.
A media report mentions how the then JNU VC, BB Bhattacharya, was personally requested by Manmohan Singh to be “lenient” with the protesting students. The VC was quoted saying by the English daily that the difference between then and now is the “broken” communication line between the students and government.
Also in a report, then JNUSU president Dhananjay Tripathi was quoted as saying, “The regime was definitely not as vengeful as it is today.” Interestingly, former JNU student Sandeep Singh, who was also part of the protest in which black flags were shown to Dr. Manmohan Singh, joined Congress and was appointed Rahul Gandhi’s speechwriter.
Verdict:
The claim is true. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh did face protests by students when he visited JNU back in 2005. And as mentioned by the former student leader, Manmohan Singh in his speech quoted Voltaire, where he defended the right to speech.
