Respect Gurmehar, says Prasad; slams those who 'abused' her

Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad today said the government fully supports freedom of expression while criticising those who "abused" DU student Gurmehar Kaur on the social media.

The Union Law Minister said "Kaur is a proud daughter of a martyr and we should respect her and her privacy".

"All those abuses against her (Kaur) on social media is totally wrong," Prasad, who also holds portfolio of Communications & Information Technology, told NDTV.

20-year-old Kaur has been subjected to intense trolling on social media over her stance against RSS-backed student body ABVP and for a video campaign advocating peace between India and Pakistan.

Prasad said the government fully supports freedom of expression for every ordinary Indian who can criticise the government and the prime minister.

However, Prasad asked "those who are talking about freedom of speech, should it allow disintegration of India and Kashmir's independence?" as he added that calling for disintegration of the country is not acceptable.

Kaur, a student of Lady Shri Ram College, affiliated to Delhi University, is the daughter of Captain Mandeep Singh who was killed in a militant attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Kupwara district on August 6, 1999, four days after Pakistani troops withdrew from Kargil.