Former K'taka Lokayukta slams anti-CAA groups for dragging students into protest

Bengaluru: Retired Supreme Court Judge and former Solicitor General of India N Santosh Hegde on Friday strongly disapproved of the involvement of students in anti-CAA agitations and charged those behind the protest with misusing them.

“I am very sorry for whatever reason, whoever is behind this protest for bringing students into the streets. It sends a wrong signal according to me,” the former Karnataka Lokayukta told PTI.

“Without going into the merits of the argument of both the parties which is now a subject matter before the Supreme Court, the methodology used in dragging students into this protest…most of them don’t even know what the subject is,” he said.

Those behind the protests are misusing the student community, Hegde alleged.

He lamented the students who are yet to form certain opinions in life are being dragged into “all issues”.

Hegde, a former Advocate General of Karnataka, said he can understand if students protest against fee hike in hostels and “other things” because parents are affected by it.

“Obviously there is a very planned move amongst people who are behind this…which (the protest) is not spontaneous, you can take it from me it’s not spontaneous,” he said.

Hegde said he is really sorry that the student community is being involved in the protest against the CAA (Citizenship (Amendment) Act), referring to agitations on college campuses in different parts of the country.

“Let the politicians protest and convey their views, why make use of students? Being students, irrespective of the merits of the cause, students ought not to have been brought into this protest,” he stressed.