Assembly polls: Bengal will miss Kanhaiya Kumar

Bengal will miss Kanhaiya Kumar, the firebrand student leader of Jawaharlal Nehru University and newfound stormy petrel of the Left.

Kumar, who was scheduled to campaign for the Left in the assembly polls, will not come because of security issues triggered by the death threats he received.

Recently, CPI(M) general-secretary Sitaram Yechuri announced that the JNU student leader will visit Bengal and campaign for the Left. After he got bail in the sedition case, Kanhaiya became a superstar especially after he delivered a stunning speech on the night of March 3. The speech made international news, hogged headlines all over the country and catapulted him to a poster boy of the Left.

“No decision has been taken to send him to Kolkata for campaign during the assembly polls. There are security concerns for him. He has to stay here for now. We have to first solve the issue of his security,” D Raja, leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha told HT over phone from Delhi.

Kanhaiya is the president of JNU students union and member of CPI’s student wing, the All India Students Federation.

“After the matter settles, we will discuss whether he will go to Kolkata or not,” added Raja.

According to party sources, Kanhaiya received a number of death threats recently after he was released on bail by the Delhi High Court. Adarsh Sharma of Purvanchal Sena had put up posters announcing reward of Rs 11 lakh for anyone who kills Kanhaiya Kumar. Kul deep Varshnay, a BJP Yuva Morcha leader, had also announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh for cutting off Kumar’s tongue.

CPI leaders as well as Kanhaiya’s mother expressed grave concerns about his safety and demanded proper security cover. The matter has also been raised in Parliament by opposition leaders.

“He can campaign for the Left even from Delhi,” said Ritabrata Banerjee, CPI(M) Rajya Sabha MP.