India Tomorrow
Patna, April 9— Firebrand youth leader Kanhaiya Kumar on Tuesday filed his nomination papers from Begusarai Lok Sabha constituency. Thousands of people attended the nomination rally.
Missing JNU student Najeeb Ahmed’s mother Fatima Nafees, eminent rights activist Teesta Setalvad, young activists Shehla Rashid and Gurmehar Kaur and Gujarat MLA Jignesh Mevani were on an open truck leading the massive rally.
Former JNU student leader Kanhaiya, contesting as the CPI candidate, on Tuesday filed his nomination for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat in Bihar.
Thousands of people, mostly youths, joined Kanhaiya Kumar during a two-kilometre march on foot, cycle and two-wheelers waving red flags in the town.
A joint Left candidate, Kanhaiya Kumar will take on Union Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Giriraj Singh in Begusarai. The RJD is set to field Tanweer Hasan, who lost to Bhola Singh of BJP in 2014.
Kanhaiya Kumar, 32, was arrested in February 2016 and accused of sedition for allegedly doing nothing to prevent the raising of anti-India slogans on the JNU campus.
Before filing the nomination, Kanhaiya tweeted: “अम्मा फ़ातिमा नफ़ीस, जिग्नेश, शेहला, गुरमेहर समेत उन तमाम साथियों का शुक्रिया जो संविधान और लोकतंत्र को बचाने के संघर्ष को मज़बूत करने के लिए बेगूसराय आए हैं। जहाँ देखो वहाँ हमारे साथी लाल झंडों के साथ नज़र आ रहे हैं। एकजुटता का ऐसा भव्य नज़ारा सबमें जोश भर रहा है।“
“माँओं के आशीर्वाद और दुआओं के साथ नामांकन के लिए निकल रहा हूँ। यह सीख उनसे ही मिली है कि लक्ष्य चाहे कितना ही बड़ा क्यों न हो अगर हम लगातार कोशिश करें तो जीत ज़रूर मिलती है। और यह भी कि पूरी दुनिया के दुख-दर्द को अपना दुख-दर्द समझना ही इंसान होने की पहली शर्त है।“
Acress Swara Bhasker Campaigns for Kanhaiya in Begusarai
On her birthday on Tuesday, actress Swara Bhasker flew to Patna to lend support to CPI candidate Kanhaiya Kumar by campaigning for him in Begusarai.
Swara wanted to be by Kanhaiya’s side when he files his nomination papers for the Begusarai Lok Sabha seat.
“It is a rather unusual way of spending one’s birthday. But Kanhaiya is a friend and I think he is fighting an important battle on behalf of us all. If he wins, it will be a victory for Indian democracy,” Swara said in a statement.
“I’ve never been part of a political campaign before so I literally have no idea what to expect,” added the actress, who has been vocal about her socio-political stance.
Swara said she feels “aligned to Kanhaiya’s views as a rational and patriotic citizen of the country”.
“Kanhaiya raises issues that concern all Indians — issues like the threat to the Constitutional values and to the Constitution of India, unemployment, the rise of mob violence, the need for social justice and the need to focus on issues that will better the lives of all Indians. I think as responsible and patriotic Indians we should all feel aligned to this ideology/or thought process.”
Talking about her birthday memories, she said: “My most memorable birthday was in 2012 on the sets of ‘Machhli Jal Ki Rani Hai’. The producers made sure that I had a very special day.. I think I cut some eight cakes that day and we had a rocking party that night.”
On the professional front, the actress says she is busy with projects for her production venture Kahaaniwaaley.
“I’m also finishing writing a script which I hope will go on the floors this year. So that’s a target of acting in two films this year,” she added.
—With Inputs From IANS
