Umar Khalid quotes about Manmohan Singh :

Umar Khalid quotes about Manmohan Singh

“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
Former JNU student leader

Read this Quote in Bengali

Know Source and Context of this Quote :

Umar Khalid, a former JNU student leader, who is in jail on sedition charges and in a separate case in 2016.

Umar Khalid made the remark in a 2020 Twitter post (now known as ‘X’).

Context of the remark:

Manmohan Singh was visiting JNU to unveil a statue of India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. During his speech, he faced black flag protests led by a Left student group expressing dissatisfaction with his government’s economic policies.

The university issued a show cause notice and police detained some students. A day later, Singh intervened, advising the then vice-chancellor B.B. Bhattacharya to be lenient with the students.

Vice Chancellor Bhattacharya recalled the 2005 incident in an interview in 2016, saying,

“Manmohan Singh told me ‘Please be lenient, sir’.”

During his visit to the campus, known for its anti-establishment stance, Manmohan Singh quoted French philosopher Voltaire and told students,

“I may disagree with what you have to say but I shall defend to the death your right to say it.”

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