Slipper thrown at Kanhaiya Kumar during a seminar in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A slipper was thrown at Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union president Kanhaiya Kumar when he was addressing a seminar in Hyderabad. The bid was foiled, as organisers rushed to protect Kanhaiya.

Kanhaiya is on a two-day visit to Hyderabad and Vijaywada, nearly three weeks after coming out on bail in the JNU sedition case.

While addressing a press conference, Kanhaiya said universities are centres to promote "critical thinking". "There is an allegation that we are doing politics. Are we doing politics or is the government is doing politics? (It) has a pre-planned script to destroy autonomy of universities. The precise work of universities, intellectuals is to promote critical thinking," he said.

The struggle in JNU is an extension of the campaign in Hyderabad Central University for justice to Rohit Vemula. There is a similarity between HCU and JNU in the context of attack on autonomy of universities and fight of social justice, he said.

Citing examples of FTII, Aligarh University and HCU and JNU he claimed that the campuses are becoming war zones. The development agenda of NDA government has taken a back seat during the last two years of its rule, he alleged.

Replying to a query, he said he would not campaign in the election in five states.

On Wednesday evening, Kumar was not allowed to enter the HCU campus where he was scheduled to address students agitating over the suicide of the Dalit scholar in January, 2016.

Kanhaiya, who came with Rohith's mother and brother to express solidarity with the students, was greeted with slogans for and against him at the gate after the University issued a notification banning entry of outsiders including political parties, media and other social/student groups besides police keeping a strict security at the main gate preventing non-students from entering.

After landing in the city on Wednesday, the student leader had blamed the government for blowing up the issue at JNU (of 'anti-national' slogans) only to divert attention from Rohith's suicide and its aftermath.