Attack on JNU students well-planned conspiracy:Union Minister

Union Minister V Muraleedharan on Monday claimed that the attack on students and teachers of Jawaharlal Nehru University in Delhi by a masked gang was a well-planned conspiracy, even as the Congress in Kerala hit out at the BJP saying it cannot always suppress dissenting voices.

Muraleedharan, the lone Kerala union minister, alleged that there was a conspiracy to malign the country's universities.

"The violence inside the JNU campus was a well-planned conspiracy. This was a conspiracy to malign universities of the country saying campuses are marred by violence," Muraleedharan told the media here.

He also alleged that the marxist party has a history of unleashing violence and then portray the victims as criminals.

"The students of extreme left and the Congress are behind the violence. They want to sabotage the normal functioning of the campus," the minister said.

However, the leader of the opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala said the attack on teachers and students of JNU by "Sangh Parivar forces showed the horror of fascism that has plagued the country."