S Jaishankar condemned the attack on JNU students and teachers
Foreign minister S Jaishankar, an alumnus of Delhi's prestigious Jawaharlal Nehru University, on Monday let his displeasure show about the situation in the premier institution.
"I can certainly tell you that when I studied in JNU, we did not see any 'tukde tukde' gang there," news agency Press Trust of India quoted him as saying when asked about the matter. "Tukde-Tukde" is a term often used by right-wing parties to attack the Left-backed groups and their supporters.
The phrase was coined after the last huge storm at the university -- when anti-national slogans were allegedly raised at a programme on Afzal Guru, the man hanged in the parliament attack case. Former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar - who then headed the JNU students' union -- and several other students were accused of sedition.
On Sunday, the minister was among the first to condemn the attack on the campus, during which around 50 masked men, armed with sticks and iron bars, had barged into the hostels and beat up teaches and students, leaving more than 20 of them injured.
"Have seen pictures of what is happening in JNU. Condemn the violence unequivocally. This is completely against the tradition and culture of the university," he had tweeted.
The Karnataka BJP, in a tweet today, appeared to support the attack.
"For too long, Leftists have been treated with kid gloves. No wonder this "good for nothing breed" has grown like a Weed. It is time #JNU Tukde Tukde Gang is identified & punished for its acts of violence. Future of India can't be at the mercy of Leftist Goons," a tweet from their official handle read.
The 18 students who were hospitalised belonged to Left-backed groups. The Left and the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad - the student body linked to the BJP - have accused each other of complicity in the attack.