Umar Khalid verdict: JNU students raise controversial slogans against PM, Shah

A group of JNU students raised controversial slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the University campus after the Supreme Court denied bail to Umar Khalid and Sharjeel Imam in the 2020 riots conspiracy case.

According to the alleged video of the protest, which took place on Monday night (January 5, 2026), slogans were shouted condemning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union president Aditi Mishra said students stage a protest every year to condemn the violence that took place on the campus on January 5, 2020.

“All the slogans raised in the protest were ideological and were not attacking anyone personally. They were not directed at anyone,” Ms. Mishra said.

A senior police officer said that no complaint has been received in this regard so far. However, Delhi Ministers Ashish Sood and Manjinder Singh Sirsa condemned the incident and accused the Opposition of supporting those who indulge in such acts.

“Sharjeel Imam talked about the separation of Northeast India. Umar Khalid raised slogans of ‘India will be torn into pieces’ and his involvement in riots in 2020 was revealed. Sympathy is shown for such people because there are people in this House who share the stage with Sharjeel Imam,” Mr. Sood told reporters ahead of the second day of the Winter Session of the Delhi Assembly.

“When such people are given patronage, these things are bound to happen,” he said. He further added: “What happened in JNU, where Sharjeel Imam and Umar Khalid were supported, is condemnable and anti-national. You can fight over policy issues, but there is no room for violence in democracy.”

Expressing similar sentiments, Mr. Sirsa claimed that those chanting slogans have no respect for either the Constitution or the law. “These are separatist people. It is extremely shameful to raise such slogans against the Prime Minister and the Home Minister. AAP and Congress have always supported such people,” Mr. Sirsa told reporters.

On January 5, 2020, violence broke out on campus when a gang of masked men stormed the campus and targeted students in three hostels, creating mayhem with sticks, stones, and iron rods, hitting inmates, and breaking windows, furniture, and personal belongings.

As chaos reigned on the campus for nearly two hours, at least 28 people, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured.

The Delhi Police had come under attack for not taking action when the mob was rioting on the campus, and specifically for naming student union leaders, including Ghosh, in two FIRs related to vandalism on the campus.