Likening Sunday’s violence at New Delhi’s Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray says that the masked men behind the violence were “cowards” and they needed to be identified and punished sternly.
“From we saw on television of what happened at JNU, I can say that the masked men who indulged in violence were cowards. If they were brave enough, they would not have indulged such kind of violence.
When they did whatever they did, why they wear masks?... Whatever I saw on television reminded me of 26/11 attacks in Mumbai,” Uddhav said.
Talking to media persons here, Uddhav said: “This kind of cowards will not get support from any quarter in the country.... I will not tolerate this kind of attack in Maharashtra.... All those masked men behind yesterday’s violence at JNU need to be identified and dealt with sternly”.
When his attention to the protests being witnessed in the national capital in the aftermath of the violence at JNU, Uddhav said: “The protests will definitely take place. Because, whatever happened at JNU should not have happened in the country.
All those responsible for the incident —be it even police — should be identified and punished”.
Asked about the protests being witnessed in Mumbai and other parts of the State, the Chief Minister said: “There is nothing to worry about the protests happening in Mumbai and other places in the state. We are here to take care of them. I would like to assure the students in the state that I will not only not allow JNU-like incidents in Maharashtra, but I will also not tolerate such incidents here”.
“If there is need to increase security on the university campuses in the State, we will definitely do it. But, we will not let anyone harm our students in the state. If someone tries to harm, we will deal with them sternly,” the Chief Minister said.
‘At the same time, we all need to come together, take cognisance and address the unrest that is being witnessed among the students across the country, by taking the students concerned into confidence... The incident has happened in Delhi..
The anger within the student community in the state is coming out. I would like to the students that I share their anger and assure them that there is no need for them to fear,” Uddhav said.
Maintaining that he did not want to politicise the incident at JNU, Uddhav said: “I do not want to politicise the incident. At this stage, I do not want to take sides on the incident. But, I am all for baring the masks of the people behind the JNU. They deserve to the unmasked. The real faces of those behind the incident should come before the country.. Whoever were behind the incident should be punished”.
Uddhav agreed with a questioner that the police appeared to be biased in handling the JNU incident. “If the police have not performed their duty, the needle of suspicion also turns towards them,” he said.
Asked if Union Home Minister Amit Shah should be held responsible for the incident, Uddhav said: “Like I said earlier I do not want to politicise the incident. What I want immediately is that all those behind the incident should be brought to book and punished severely. What we need now is an impartial inquiry into the incident....If no action is taken, then questions will arise if it was a sponsored attack and there is politics in the whole thing”.
Asked if he concurred with the demand made by the teachers’ association of JNU that the vice chancellor should be sacked, Uddhav said: “Don’t worry, things will come out (on whether there was dereliction of duty on his part). Things can not be hidden for long... Ultimately, it is for the Government there to initiate action”.