Media needs to stop this witch-hunt: Umar Khalid tells Firstpost after comparing Burhan Wani to Che Guevara

JNU student leader Umar Khalid, who had kicked off a controversy  on the networking site Facebook by comparing Burhan Wani to Che Guevara, clarified his stance over the whole controversy. “What the media is reporting is extremely shameful. The media is trying to deviate the matter by diverting all the attention on me, that too over on something as trivial as a Facebook post,” Umar told Firstpost. [caption id=“attachment_2749892” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  JNU students Umar Khalid (left) and Anirban Bhattacharya. File photo. PTI[/caption] Umar futher said,“There are far more pressing matters happening in Kashmir. Instead of focussing on the brutal crackdown, the media is continuing the witch-hunt by targeting me. Especially the electronic media. They just want to increase their TRPs. People can’t even have an opinion of their own? As of now 23 people have lost their lives in Kashmir.” Umar condemned the killings that took place in Kashmir. “What is happening in Kashmir is extremely shameful. Those killings need to stop right now.” Umar Khalid in a Facebook post had written, “I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting. These were the words of Che Guevara, but could have just been Burhan Wani’s too.” Khalid has earlier been in the centre of controversy for being one of the organisers of the controversial event in JNU against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised. His remarks on Burhan Wani did not go down well with the RSS student wing ABVP, which has been locked in an ideological battle with the left-affiliated groups in JNU. Reacting earlier to Umar Khalid’s post, Saurabh Sharma, lone ABVP member in JNU students union said, “After supporting Afzal Guru, Khalid has now expressed his sympathies with Burhan, this is an indicative of his association with terrorists and his support for them. Such anti-nationsals are even dangerous for the society than terrorists. I demand that his bail be cancelled and investigation about his links be conducted.” Burhan Wani was a Hizbul Mujahideen who was killed in an encounter along with two other associates on Friday. Ever since, curfew was declared throughout the Kashmir Valley because of protests over the militant leader’s death. With inputs from PTI