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Communists need not teach us democracy: Subramanian Swamy

Addressing hundreds of students during a seminar titled 'Freedom of speech under Constitution', at Delhi University's (DU) Law Faculty, he said: "The communists need not tell us the meaning of democracy. For we know what comes under democracy and what (does) not."

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BJP leader Subramanian Swamy
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Slamming the Left for "misinterpreting" right to freedom of speech, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Subramanian Swamy on Friday said slogans such as "Bharat ke tukde honge (India will be broken into pieces)" cannot be allowed to be raised in the name of dissent.

Addressing hundreds of students during a seminar titled 'Freedom of speech under Constitution', at Delhi University's (DU) Law Faculty, he said: "The communists need not tell us the meaning of democracy. For we know what comes under democracy and what (does) not."

The seminar was earlier scheduled for March 4 but was postponed in the backdrop of violent clashes that took place at Ramjas College on February 22 following the cancellation of another seminar where Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students Umar Khalid and Shehla Rashid were invited. BJP-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) had objected to the invite.

"Freedom of speech comes with some responsibilities. If there are several fundamental rights given in our Constitution, there are some fundamental duties as well," Swamy said.

Echoing the sentiment, Supreme Court lawyer Monika Arora, who was the Chief Speaker at the seminar, said, "Freedom of speech is needed. It is a human right but the context should be taken care of. The right to dissent is fine but that doesn't give one a right to talk about dividing one's country."

Arora also slammed the JNU, saying: "There is an anti-India brigade in JNU that includes both teachers and students. They always talk about dividing the country. They forget that freedom of speech under Article 19 of the Constitution of India is not absolute."

The seminar took place a day after the Delhi College of Arts and Commerce (DCAC) cancelled a programme where Swamy was invited as the chief guest. The college also scrapped its annual journal, allegedly for having an article on the Ramjas incident.

Meanwhile, later in the day, a delegation of students from different DU colleges met the Deputy Proctor and submitted a petition demanding punishment for perpetrators of February 21 and 22 violence.

The varsity authority assured the students that it would look into the issue. "It is really shameful and shocking on the part of the administration that it has not even come up with a symbolic statement of condemnation, leave alone an inquiry," DU student and All India Students' Association (AISA) member Kawalpreet Kaur said.

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