Jung said that he had no problem with saying Bharat Mata Ki Jai, but said that people cannot be forced to say that, and mentioned that he chooses to ignore politicians who say that those not raising the slogan should be asked to leave India, The Indian Express reported.
One may refuse to chant Bharat Mata Ki Jai but that doesn’t make one anti-national: Najeeb Jung #TTP https://t.co/t8UHAm5bVN
— India Today (@IndiaToday) April 11, 2016
He added that,
“You can say ‘I don’t want to say it’. But that does not mean I am not nationalistic. That would not mean that I am anti-India. I do not represent any community. I am not representing any religion here. This is a manufactured controversy.”
Talking about the controversy at JNU, the former VC of Jamia Millia University said that police is invited in campus only in cases of acute arson and that the VC was new and didn’t get time to settle, he said,
“If Mr Sopory had continued as vice-chancellor, there would have been an in-house dialogue. That is the tradition in JNU and we may have avoided the incident which carried on for a month.”
He also described JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar as someone who “speaks well” and is persuasive, therefore he becomes an icon for many young people who are deprived of what they could have achieved, he said,
“I would give him time. He is a young man. I have seen many students in my life. I have seen many students wither away with time. So let’s give him time. I think the boy has to mature. I see him, at times, getting carried away with his persona.”
The Lt Governor who has mostly been at loggerheads with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said that continuing odd-even will put strain on the police personnel, and disagreed with the idea of making it permanent.