Strict action must be taken against JNU goons: CM Singh

Urging the central and Delhi governments to stop indulging in blame games over the attack on JNU students by masked hooligans, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday sought strict action against perpetrators of violence irrespective of their party links.

Singh sought the action saying the spate of violence in various university campuses recently has marred India's image internationally and has caused "irrevocable damage" to the country's education system.

"The Centre and Delhi government should stop blame games over the attack on JNU students and ensure urgent restoration of law and order in the premier university of the country," he said in a statement here.

Terming attacks on JNU students on Sunday evening as "unparallel in independent India", Singh questioned the Delhi police for its absence from the scene of trouble.

“Where was the Delhi Police when armed goons had a free run at the university campus, indulging in brutal attacks on students, staff, and teachers?” he asked.

“Why did the police force, which had been ruthless in its actions when the trouble had broken out in Jamia (Milia Islamia) some days back, suddenly decide to stay back in the case of JNU? Whose orders were they acting on?” he demanded to know.

The Punjab chief minister also sought to know from his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal as to why did he merely tweet his "anguish" over the incident and make no "effective intervention" to contain the situation.

“How could he not rush to the spot? Was it enough for him to simply tweet his anguish? As chief minister, and more importantly, as someone who claims to be the custodian of the welfare of Delhi's citizens, why did he not intervene personally?” Singh asked.

"The shocking lawlessness that emerged from JNU last night made a mockery of India's claim to be a mature democracy, and marked the total failure of every institution responsible for the safety of the people of Delhi, he said.

He blamed both the Centre and the Delhi government as well as the Delhi police for being merely "mute spectators while India's future was under such a brazen and shameless assault".

Endorsing the demand, raised by various quarters, for the Supreme Court to take suo motu cognizance of the violence on JNU campus, Singh said, "It is necessary to identify and act against not just the assailants behind what appeared to be a pre-planned attack but also those who became co-conspirators by virtue of allowing it to continue unabated."

"If this kind of incident goes unpunished in the national capital, one can only imagine what could happen in educational institutions in other parts of the country," he said.

Singh said "such an attack on students in an educational institution marks an ugly turn for the nation, which, if unchecked, could trigger India's eventual downfall from its exalted position as a global symbol of democracy and upholder of the law".

“Is this the nation for which our freedom fighters gave up their lives? Is it the country of which our forefathers and grandfathers laid the foundation stone with their blood and sweat?” he asked.

The chief minister called upon all like-minded people to rise to the occasion and fight against the forces that he said are "hell-bent on destroying India's glorious status as a progressive and liberal democracy, founded on the Constitutional principles of unity, amity, and secularism".