To no one’s surprise, Kanhaiya Kumar received a hero’s welcome from his peers on his release from Tihar jail. However, in the face of a rousing speech on his return to the JNU campus, his popularity is now being recognised across the board, even by ideological opponents such as union minister Venkaiah Naidu.
While some people say the government in power has transformed him from a nobody into a hero, others went further comparing him to Che Guevara.
JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar returned to the JNU campus late on Thursday night and took pot-shots at the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in an hour-long speech, a few hours after his release from jail.
He is getting publicity.He can join politics,his favourite party is almost in single digits in Parliament-Venkaiah Naidu on #KanhaiyaKumar
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 4, 2016
I have an ideological difference with #KanhaiyaKumar but his speech was a lesson in eloquence- gritty, fiery, peppered with humor, sarcasm.
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) March 3, 2016
You can disagree with all #Kanhaiya says. But he a better speaker than many MPs, more political than most. Never patronise him as "bachcha"
— Shekhar Gupta (@ShekharGupta) March 4, 2016
The Govt made #KanhaiyaKumar out of nobody. Oppression of voices never worked for long, anywhere.
— Tinu Cherian Abraham (@tinucherian) March 4, 2016
If speeches make a leader, then a leader has been born!
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) March 3, 2016
#KanhaiyaKumar is now like the legendary Che Guevara ; a young man who symbolizes a new young irrepressible India that believes in itself.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) March 3, 2016
#KanhaiyaKumar what an inspirational speech. Straight from the heart. pic.twitter.com/PKriOSoKK2
— Bhaichung Bhutia (@bhaichung15) March 3, 2016
Must watch:Kanhaiya's brilliant speech on JNU homecoming.Azaadi from poverty,injustice&from those who loot÷ ushttps://t.co/cONqRyqYzQ
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) March 4, 2016
In his speech which was laced with sarcasm, he took references of numerous promises made by the PM prior to the elections and even comments made by the BJP leaders recently and compared them to gimmicks devised by magicians to capture the crowd. He took on the government’s stand on issues like Rohith Vemula, farmer suicides and defining ‘’nationalism’’. Video: Watch JNU leader Kanhaiya's stinging speech after his release Kanhaiya Kumar, who was arrested on February 12 in connection with a sedition case over a controversial JNU event, was granted interim bail on Wednesday for six months by the Delhi High Court which said that he has to cooperate in the ongoing investigation and has to present himself before the investigators as and when required. Interestingly, a Facebook post of Rohith Vemula sharing a video link of Kanhaiya’s speech in September 2015 when he was first elected as the JNUSU president is making the rounds.