Mumbai: In a statement which is expected to raise hackles of the BJP, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday likened the alleged attack on Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) students to the 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.
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 attacks. Students are feeling unsafe in the country. I will not allow anything like JNU to happen in Maharashtra,” said the CM.
Assuring that the youths in Maharashtra are safe, he said that youngsters are the future pillars of the country. “If they are not safe, it is a blot on the country’s image,” he said.
Speaking on the protest at the Gateway of India on Monday, the Chief Minister said, “I understand their rage. I am also equally unhappy with what has happened in JNU.”
Thackeray termed the masked attackers at JNU as ‘cowards’ and said their identity should be revealed. “If Delhi Police fails to find out perpetrators of the attack, then they will also be in the dock,” he said.
Though the CM slammed the violence at the JNU, he fell short of demanding the resignation of Mr Shah for it.
“I don’t want to do politics over this. But the priority should be to bring the assailants to justice. Politics can wait. There should be an impartial inquiry into the incident,” he said.
Several hundred people on Monday assembled at Hutatma Chowk in Fort to protest against the alleged attack on the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Besides, hundreds of students and activists carried out a march from Hutatma Chowk to Gateway of India on Monday. “Aazadi slogans were raised at the protest,” officials said.
Protesters were carrying placards and shouting slogans condemning the violence they claim was perpetrated by the RSS-backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and other outfits linked to the ruling BJP. Students also carried out a candlelight march.
