Owaisi's take on JNU violence: Situation is so bad...
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has weighed on today's raging topic of violence at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and said it was so bad even Union Ministers were tweeting helplessly. Owaisi, a staunch critic of the current BJP regime, said the attack was meant to "punish" JNU students as they raised their voices. AIMIM also expressed solidarity towards the students. Here are more details.
In case you still don't know what happened inside JNU, let's tell you - 50 odd masked goons entered the campus around 6:30 pm, ransacked the property and beat students/teachers with iron rods, sledgehammers, etc. The injured are currently recuperating at AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital. Notably, Delhi Police, that reached the site around 7:30-8 pm and held flag march, hasn't made a single arrest.
The attack was rightly condemned by everyone cutting across political lines. "In solidarity with the brave students of JNU. This cruel attack is meant to 'punish' JNU students because they dared to stand up. It's so bad that even Union Ministers are tweeting helplessly. Modi Sarkar must answer why cops aresiding with goons (sic)," the parliamentarian from Hyderabad tweeted.
"There is no doubt these people were given the green signal by the powers that be. They had covered their faces in a cowardly way and were allowed to enter JNU. Worst is there is a video which shows Police allowed them safe passage," Owaisi told ANI.
Among the Union Ministers who expressed shock and grief over the violence were Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, both JNU alumni. Their Cabinet colleague, Smriti Irani also commented on it and said educational institutions shouldn't be made "rajneeti ka akhada (battlefield for politics)" since it affects students' lives. To recall, Irani has earlier served as HRD Minister.
The JNU episode has given Opposition parties ammunition to attack BJP, more so since the university's students union has blamed ABVP, an arm of RSS, for it. And Maharashtra's CM Uddhav Thackeray did the same when he compared yesterday's attack to 26/11 terror attacks in Mumbai, which left nearly 150 dead. He said students are scared and it's crucial to instil confidence in them.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray: There is an atmosphere of fear among the students in the country, we all need to come together and instill confidence in them. https://t.co/9omvMqF1Kl pic.twitter.com/zORU3ou0PS
— ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2020
