Tharoor should be 'ashamed' for supporting violence at JNU, says GVL Narasimha Rao

Hitting out at Shashi Tharoor for his 'students' dissent gives me hope' remark, BJP leader GVL Narasimha Rao on Thursday said that the Congress leader should be ashamed for supporting violence at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

"People like Tharoor should be ashamed for supporting damage to public property in the form of anti-citizenship law protest and JNU violence. If parliamentarians do not speak in the public interest then they are seen as a part of tukde-tukde gang," Rao told ANI.

The BJP leader's response comes a day after Tharoor spoke about the anti-CAA protests and violence at JNU at an event where he said that "students' dissent gives me hope".

"The statement of Tharoor is indeed very curious. From where is he drawing hope from? Is he drawing inspiration from slogans of Break India? Is he getting inspiration from the kind of violence that has been carried out in the form of CAA protest? Is he getting inspired by setting buses and public property ablaze?" Rao asked.

He alleged that those, who "want to divide and break India", have taken shelter in the JNU campus.

"The kind of forces which "Divide India, Break India" have taken route in the campuses like JNU. The tukde-tukde gang draw their support and sustenance from parties like Congress and the Communists," he said.

Rao attacked Congress leader Digvijaya Singh for saying that those criticising actor Deepika Padukone over her visit to JNU campus during the protest against violence, are "anti-democratic in nature".

"Digvijay should blame Rahul Gandhi for standing with tukde-tukde gang. It is the communists and their 'goondas' (goons) who are unleashing violence in colleges' campuses only to fulfill their political agenda and to create anarchy," he said.

"The urban Naxals have actually spread into colleges' campuses. The Congress and communists are backing them," the BJP leader added.