Cong blaming govt for JNU violence is case of pot calling kettle black: Javadekar

The BJP on Thursday suggested that the masked mob which indulged in violence in JNU was linked to student unions affiliated to the Left and the Congress, saying these bodies were upset because students did not adhere to their boycott call to the semester registration process.

Senior party leader and Union minister Prakash Javadekar refuted the Congress's allegation that the violence in the Jawaharlal Nehru University was "officially sponsored goondaism", describing it as an "utterly false allegation" and a case of pot calling the kettle black.

He told reporters that masked people first carried out violence on January 2 as they sought to disrupt the admission process by vandalising the server room at the university after over 1,100 students enrolled for the semester, defying the boycott call.

"If this is not goondaism, then what is this?" he asked.

On Sunday, a masked mob went on rampage on JNU campus for which opposition parties have blamed the RSS-affiliated student union ABVP.

The ABVP has rejected the charge and blamed rival Left groups for the arson and violence in which at least 35 people, including JNU Students' Union president Aishe Gosh, were injured.

A police investigation is on and it will "unmask" these masked people, Javadekar said, adding that a lie will not become truth because of it being repeated by the Congress and other parties.

The Congress on Thursday alleged that the violence in JNU was "officially sponsored goondaism" and said Home Minister Amit Shah and HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal were responsible for it.

The Congress demanded that those behind the violence must be identified and arrested immediately.