New Delhi, September 16, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Samajwadi Party (SP) leader ST Hasan has backed jailed activist Umar Khalid, saying he has consistently spoken for national integration, communal harmony and freedom from oppression.
Speaking to IANS on Wednesday, Hasan rejected allegations that Khalid had instigated violence and questioned why he was being described as “anti-national”.
“As far as we understand, Umar Khalid has always spoken about national integration. He has always talked about communal harmony and freedom from oppression. Everyone knows who is the oppressor and who’s oppressed. I do not understand how he has become anti-national,” Hasan said.
Hasan also expressed concern over Khalid’s prolonged incarceration, saying it was unfortunate that he had remained in jail for six years without the trial beginning.
“It is also unfortunate that he has been in jail for six years, and his trial has not even begun yet. Who is stopping it? You know that very well,” he said.
The SP leader also criticised what he described as a decline in democratic values, referring to Nathuram Godse’s assassination of Mahatma Gandhi and questioning public discourse around Godse.
“Has our conscience lost its direction?” Hasan asked.
He further said that those who, according to him, had appeased and received rewards from the British should not question another person’s patriotism or label them anti-national.
The BJP has repeatedly criticised Congress leaders over their support for Khalid, while the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has opposed a proposed campus screening of a documentary based on his life.
On Tuesday, Karnataka Congress chief B.K. Hariprasad also called Khalid a “nationalist” and criticised ABVP for opposing the proposed screening at the National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bengaluru.
“Umar Khalid is a nationalist,” Hariprasad told reporters, while also making allegations against ABVP over its views on Godse.
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