"Environment which is being created by the Central Government is not in the interest of the nation," Mallikarjun Kharge emphasised.
A day after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stirred a controversy by comparing Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur to underworld don Dawood Ibrahim, the Congress on Tuesday mocked the saffron party's patriotic stunt and accused it of imposing pressure on the nation's youth.
Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge, while taking potshots at the BJP said the Lady Shri Ram College student is unnecessarily being portrayed as "anti-national".
"Everyone knows how the BJP behaves with the citizens. The student (Gurmehar Kaur) is being blamed and called an anti-national. It is being portrayed that she is under some influence," Kharge said. He further said the BJP indulges in such practices to portray that it is the only patriotic party in the country.
"This has been the strategy of the BJP since the beginning. As the (assembly) elections have taken a pace, therefore, in order to polarise votes the BJP tries to mould others' statements and present in whichever way they want to," Kharge said.
He asserted that the Home Ministry and other BJP MLAs are pressurising the student, which is not at all acceptable and is creating negativity in the country. "Everybody has the freedom of speech, the people put forward their opinions and sometimes these opinions are accepted or rejected. But this environment which is being created by the Central Government is not in the interest of the nation," Kharge emphasised.
Meanwhile, Gurmehar has pulled out of a march on Tuesday against campus violence. In a series of tweets, she has appealed to others to join the "Save DU" march at the Delhi University campus by students and teachers in huge numbers.
The 20-year-old was given police protection on Monday after she was trolled with tweets threatening rape over her Facebook post against ABVP.
Security has also been beefed up on Tuesday outside Delhi University's Arts Faculty in the wake of a protest march to be held by students over the Ramjas college incident. Students and teachers from the Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University will be holding a march from the Khalsa College to the Arts Faculty.
Violence erupted last week after the ABVP students allegedly manhandled and thrashed students protesting the cancellation of an event at Ramjas College at which controversial JNU student Umar Khalid was scheduled to speak.
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