B K Hariprasad Calls Umar Khalid 'Nationalist', Sparks Row Over NLSIU Documentary Screening

Bengaluru, Sep 15: Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President B K Hariprasad has kicked up a controversy on Tuesday by calling Umar Khalid a 'nationalist'.

Hariprasad's remark sparks row

Hariprasad was reacting to a statement by the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) which sought Centre's intervention in the permanent cancellation of a proposed screening of a documentary on the jailed activist at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru.

"Umar Khalid is a nationalist, and ABVP has no right to speak on him because they adore Nathuram Godse — who was an anti-national and the first terrorist of the country. They have no moral right,'' Hariprasad said.

The remarks came amid a row over the proposed screening of Prisoner No 626710 is Present, a documentary on Umar Khalid. Earlier, the Law and Society Committee of the NLSIU had postponed the screening, which was initially scheduled for 7 pm on Monday.

Screening postponed at NLSIU

A note by the committee read, "We're rescheduling the event surrounding the Political Prisoners' Day, namely the screening of Prisoner No 626710 and larger conversations beyond these two cases on pre-trial detention, bail, dissent, political incarceration, and the relationship between the criminal law and democratic freedoms, which was planned for 14th September at 7 pm, has been postponed due to logistical and security considerations (sic)," a note by the committee.

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The committee had planned the screening to mark six years of Khalid’s incarceration and six-and-a-half years of Sharjeel Imam’s incarceration under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for an alleged larger conspiracy behind the Delhi riots in 2020.