Freedom of speech and expression is there to build the nation and not to break it: Sunil Ambekar
Hailing singer Sonu Nigam for his controversial tweets on the 'Azaan', the National Organising Secretary of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Sunil Ambekar said, "It's good that people, other than us, are also taking our work forward and talking about it publicly. We welcome all these people."
While addressing students and teachers at Delhi University's Daulat Ram College on the issue of "Freedom of Expression In Today's Times" on Thursday, Ambekar said, "Freedom of speech and expression is there to build the nation and not to break it."
The event also witnessed the launch of a right-wing forum JANMAT —Joined Action group of Nationalist-Minded Artists and Teachers. "It's an open forum of intellectuals, thinkers, and artistes to expose anti-national elements prevailing in the society. And to promote a nationalist narrative in the country," said Pramod Shastri, JANMAT convener and professor at DU.
"Several professors from JNU, DU, and other varsities are part of it. Some Bollywood celebrities are also willing to join us," Shastri added.
"When Akhlaq died in Dadri, hundreds of so called intellectuals returned their awards. But none of them raised their voice against the brutal killings of RSS workers by the communists in Kerala," said Avnijesh Awasthi, a professor of PGDAV college and RSS ideologue. "So, there was an urgent need for a forum like JANMAT to counter these champions of propaganda and expose anti-national elements," he added.
Countering those who claim that freedom of expression is at stake in India, Ambekar said, "Everyone in India has freedom of speech and expression but one cannot exploit it to serve their political purpose. It's not there for raising anti-national slogans in JNU or Ramjas."
"Nationalists should try and occupy university spaces in a bid to counter these anti-nationals who claim that the environment of our varsities is not peaceful," he added.
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