Violence At JNU: Modi Govt Ministers, Opposition Leaders React

Central government ministers and opposition leaders condemned the violence at Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) where several students and teachers were attacked by masked men carried rods and other weapons.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, an alumnus of JNU, said, “This government, regardless of what has been said the past few weeks, wants universities to be safe spaces for all students.”

The HRD ministry called the JNU incident “unfortunate and highly condemnable” and said “acts of violence, anarchy will not be tolerated.”

HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank tweeted: “I appeal to all students to maintain dignity of university and peace on campus.”

At least 18 people, including JNU Students’ Union president Aishe Ghosh, were injured and admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), PTI reported.

Several students who spoke to HuffPost India said they were hiding inside their hostel rooms to stay safe.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked the Centre saying, “The fascists in control of our nation are afraid of the voices of our brave students. Today’s violence in JNU is a reflection of that fear.”

Congress’ Priyanka Gandhi visited AIIMS to meet JNU students who had been admitted with severe head injuries.

A statement from the home ministry said minister Amit Shah had spoken to the Delhi police commissioner to enquire about the situation in JNU and had sought a report on the violence. 

Ministers react

Opposition leaders react