Over 30 students and teachers were injured after a mob wearing masks wielding sticks, rods and sledgehammers launched an attack on students of the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday evening. The JNU students union has accused the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members of carrying out the attack.

However, ABVP has denied the allegations and has alleged that JNUSU was behind the campus violence. The Delhi police has filed an FIR against unidentified people but has not made any arrests yet. Home Minister Amit Shah has asked Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal to call representatives from JNU for a discussion about the incident.

Meanwhile, the incident has triggered a political row, Congress leader P Chidambaram has said that the attack is a "descent into fascism". Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has likened the attack with the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks. West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has called the violence "a fascist surgical strike carried out on the directions of the government".

On the other hand, BJP IT Cell Head Amit Malviya has accused left-leaning activists, supported by the opposition, of fomenting trouble at university campuses. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, who are also JNU alumni, have also condemned the violence.

Students have hit the streets across the country, protesting against the JNU attack. In Mumbai, protestors have gathered at the Gateway of India. In Kolkata, students at Jadhapur University are at the forefront of these protests. JNU students also continue to protest against last evening's rampage.

CNBC-TV18 caught up with Anjali Bhardwaj a social activist, Harjit Singh Bhatti, Former President – RDA at AIIMS, Biswajit Dhar, Professor – Economics at JNU and Madan Lokur, Former Judge of the Supreme Court discussed the JNU attack.

First Published:Jan 6, 2020 9:00 PM IST