Terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba's (LeT) founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed on Monday refuted Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh's claims that he backed the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students union's event to observe Afzal Guru's third death anniversary.
Saeed, the chief of LeT's political wing Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), responded to Singh's claims in a video released on JuD's official YouTube platform.
"I felt weird to learn that India said my tweet and I'm behind the event at JNU where students shouted slogans such as Pakistan zindabad," Saeed said in the video. "I have not posted any tweet supporting the JNU incident and the Twitter account is fake," he added.
He posted the link to his video on the Twitter handle @HafizSaeedLive. "Watch Full Video here of our Official Response to Rajnath's malicious allegation based on Fake Twitter account #JNU https://youtu.be/2nuCeSsKdJY, (sic)" he tweeted.
JNU students last Tuesday participated in an event organised to observe the third death anniversary of December 2001 Parliament attack convict Guru and shouted slogans allegedly in support of Kashmiri separatism and Guru. They allegedly shouted "Kashmir ki azadi tak jung chalegi, Bharat ki barbadi tak jung chalegi" at the event, India Today reports.
Saeed also commented on the claims that slogans were raised in suppport of Kashmiri separatism. "Kashmiris' freedom movement is their own. It is wrong to say that Kashmiris' freedom movements have the influence of Hafiz Saeed," he said.
Singh on Sunday said the JNU incident had the backing of Saeed. To support his claims, the Home Ministry later said inputs provided by different agencies hinted towards Saeed's involvement in the event.
However, the Indian Express said in a report that Singh's statement came after a Twitter handle —@Hafeez SaeedJUD — called upon JNU students "to continue their Pro-Kashmiri, Anti-India Propaganda in our Universities. (sic)"
"We request our Pakistani Brothers to trend #SupportJNU for our pro-Pakistani JNUites brothers, (sic)" said another tweet from the account.
The event at JNU attracted criticism from the government and led to alleged police raids at the university, after which JNU students' union president Kanhaiya Kumar was arrested on charges of sedition and criminal conspiracy for organising the event and shouting "anti-India" slogans.
He was sent to three-day police custody after being arrested on Friday. On Sunday, Delhi's Patiala House Court extended his police custody by two days.
JNU campus row: JNUSU President Kanhaiya Kumar who was arrested in a sedition case has been remanded to 2 days police custody.
— ANI (@ANI_news) February 15, 2016
Hafiz Saeed release video: this is a fake twitter account. I have not said anything via a tweet. — ANI (@ANI_news) February 15, 2016
Hafiz Saeed's video:
