Scores of students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on 24 May staged a protest at Jantar Mantar against the Gujarat Government and Narendra Modi, demanding compensation for six convicts who were acquitted by the Supreme Court in the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack case. Students, under the banner of JNU Students’ Union, were scheduled to protest outside Gujarat Bhawan, but the police did not allow them and took the bus in which they were travelling to Jantar Mantar where they staged the protest and raised slogans against PM-elect Modi.
“We want Gujarat Government and Narendra Modi, who also looked after the State Home Ministry, to announce sufficient compensation for six innocent persons, who had been implicated by the State Government. These persons have spent around 11 years in jail despite the fact that they had nothing to do with the attack,” Sandeep Saurav, general secretary of JNUSU, said. The students also demanded strict action against officials “who were involved in implicating these innocent people.”