Jawaharlal Nehru University students’ union president Kanhaiya Kumar, who is out on bail in a sedition case, met Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday.

Kanhaiya, accompanied by a delegation of JNU students and members of All India Students Federation, met the Congress vice president at his residence in Tughlaq lane area.

While Kanhaiya did not interact with the media after his an hour-long meeting, National Students’ Union of India Chief Roji M John described it as a courtesy call to thank Gandhi for his support during the ongoing row at the university.

“A JNU delegation headed by Kanhaiya met Rahul Gandhi, it was a courtesy call. They thanked him for his continuous support ever since the issue started.

“Gandhi not only supported the students at JNU but also Film and Television Institute of India and Indian Institute of Technology-Madras where students have been protesting against the way government is attacking institutions. We will continue this fight to protect autonomy of institutions,” John told reporters.

Gandhi in his tweet merely said, “met a delegation of student leaders from AISF and JNUSU president”.

The Congress leader had visited the JNU campus on February 13, a day after Kanhaiya was arrested in a sedition case over an event at the varsity against hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru during which anti-national slogans were allegedly raised.

In a hard-hitting attack on Modi government over JNU student’s arrest, Gandhi had virtually drawn parallel of it with the Nazi regime of Hitler, accusing the National Democratic Alliance of “suppressing” students’ voice and telling students “don’t let those bullies push you around”.

Image: Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi with JNU students, including Kanhaiya Kumar (second from right). Photograph: @officeofRG/Twitter