Kanhaiya Kumar says he feels no pressure, as he has nothing to lose

The former JNU students' union President Kanhaiya Kumar, one of the most talked-about candidates these elections, is a debutant and has been fielded by a party that is not part of the grand alliance of Bihar. He had taken over the headlines with the 'azadi' slogan controversy on the premier university campus after which he was charged with a sedition case and was described as "anti-national".

He told Piyush Tripathi while campaigning in rural Begusarai, that he was was contesting in the elections for the honour of those who had been oppressed as "anti-nationals" just as he had been.

When asked why he decided to contest polls, Kanhaiya said, "For the people. They have been insulted. It's not me alone who has been called anti-national, an entire district in Bihar was called so. I am fighting for the honour of everyone from Bihar as they have been called 'Deshdrohi Bihari'".

He was also asked if he felt pressure by being projected as a face of dissent against the Narendra Modi government. To this, he replied saying, "Why should I be under pressure? He is the Prime Minister, he should feel the pressure. Besides, I am not the sitting MP that I should feel the pressure of losing my seat. I have nothing to lose."

Kanhaiya was asked if he thought that by pointing at a particular person, he was being negative. He replied, "You tell me, what was the need for this? I was a student and there was no need to protest against the government. But I had to do it because the government was not doing its work. When somebody raises his voice in dissent, he is labelled anti-national. The country does not belong to them. The country is not their personal property. There is no negativity in me. Saying that the PM is lying is not a personal attack, it is a question".

When asked his opinion about (RJD leader and Lalu Prasad's son) Tejaswi's decision to field an RJD veteran from this constituency, he said, "It is obvious he will field his candidate, since he is running the party. I think Tejashwi is a good leader. He hasn't done anything as of now for which I can call him a bad leader".

Kanhaiya stated that if he gets elected, he will solve the basic problems of migration, which is the most important one. He also questioned why the youth of Bihar should go to Delhi for the preparation of UPSC and the Kota for the engineering entrance examination, as the teachers over there belong to Bihar too.