Fight between left, right shouldn't take place on university campuses, says Ramdas Athawale

Union Minister Ramdas Athawale on Tuesday condemned the violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), saying that fighting between left and right wings should not take place on the campuses of educational institutions.

"I condemn the violence at the JNU. This incident should be probed by the police ... People have the right to support whatever party they want. However, this fight between left and right wings should not take place in the universities," said Athawale at a press conference.

He said that these universities are the centres of education and prosperity.

"There has been a consistent effort to cause violence at the JNU for several years. It is a very big educational centre. The number of left students is also more at university. There are always left-fuelled protests on the campus," said Athawale.

"Once, pro-Pakistan slogans were raised on the campus. When Afzal Guru was hanged, a rally was orgsed against that on the campus," said he.

Athawale, who is the Minister of State (MoS) for Social Justice and Empowerment, also said that the decision by the JNU administration to hike the fee was not right.

"The Central government has nothing to do with the fee hike in the university. The JNU administration is an independent body. However, I don't think the decision to hike the fee was right," he said.

His comment comes after a major clash on Sunday took place on the JNU campus when a masked mob entered the varsity and attacked the students, in which more than 30 students injured and taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre.

( With inputs from ANI )