Voice of India's youth being muzzled: Sonia on JNU violence

Congress president Sonia Gandhi, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray condemned the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University and said that it was a “disturbing and fascist strike" by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Monday alleged that the "horrifying" violence unleashed on India's youth by goons was with the active abetment of the ruling Modi government and demanded an independent judicial inquiry into the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University.

In a statement, she accused the Modi government of seeking to stifle and subjugate every voice of dissent and said Sunday's "bone chilling" attack on students and teachers in JNU was a grim reminder of that.

"The voice of India's youth and students is being muzzled every day. The horrifying and unprecedented violence unleashed on India's young by goons with active abetment of the ruling Modi government is deplorable and unacceptable," she charged.

Gandhi alleged that every day campuses and colleges are raided across India, either by the police or lumpen elements with support of the BJP government.

"Yesterday's bone chilling attack on students and teachers in JNU, Delhi is a grim reminder of the extent the government will go to stifle and subjugate every voice of dissent," she said.

The Congress president said students and youth need affordable education, a deserving job, a promising future and a right to participate in the thriving democracy. "Sadly, the Modi government seeks to suffocate and restrain each one of these aspirations," she charged.

"The entire Congress party stands in solidarity with India's youth and students. We strongly deprecate the sponsored violence in JNU yesterday and demand an independent judicial inquiry," she said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday termed the attack on students and teachers at JNU as a "disturbing and fascist strike" by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Banerjee said she had begun her political career as a student leader but never before witnessed such "brazen attack" on educational institutes.

"Whatever is happening across the country is very disturbing... I, too, was involved in student politics at one point in time, but never before have I witnessed this sort of an attack on students and educational institutions...

"Yesterday's was a fascist strike on the student community," Banerjee said.

Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar on Monday said JNU students were subjected to a "cowardly and planned attack", adding that use of violence to suppress democratic values won't succeed.

Pawar's remarks came as his party minister Jitendra Awhad joined the students protesting the violence, at the Gateway of India.

"JNU students and professors were subjected to a cowardly but planned attack. I strongly condemn this undemocratic act of vandalism and violence. Use of violent means to suppress democratic values and thought will never succeed," Pawar tweeted.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday compared the JNU violence with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack, and said students were feeling "unsafe" in the country.

Amid demands of resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah in view of the violence, Thackeray said politics over it can wait and the priority should be to bring take strict action against the attackers.

"The attack on JNU students on Sunday night reminded me of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Students are feeling unsafe in the country. I will not allow anything like JNU to happen in Maharashtra," he told reporters.

Asserting that students in Maharashtra were safe, Thackeray said he will not tolerate any move to hurt them.

Terming the masked attackers at JNU as "cowards", he said their identity should be revealed.

"If Delhi Police fail to find out perpetrators of the attack, then they will also be in the dock," he said.

To a query on protests by students at the Gateway of India in Mumbai against the JNU violence, the chief minister said, "I understand their rage. I am also equally unhappy with what has happened in JNU."