A day after the chilling attack on students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Monday launched a scathing attack on the ruling BJP government accusing it of abetting violence against the youth of the country.

While condemning the hooliganism that unfolded at the Centre-administered Jawaharlal Nehru University on Sunday night, Gandhi also demanded a judicial enquiry into the same.

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In a statement here, she said the entire party stands in solidarity with the JNU students.

“The entire Congress party stands in solidarity with India’s youth and students. We strongly deprecate the sponsored violence in JNU yesterday (Sunday) and demand an independent judicial inquiry,” Sonia Gandhi said.

She further accused the Central Government of trying to muzzle the voices of India’s youth and students.

“The voice of India’s youth and students is being muzzled everyday. The horrifying and unprecedented violence unleashed on India’s young by goons with active abetment of the ruling Modi government is deplorable and unacceptable,” she said.

The Congress President noted that raids on campuses and colleges across the country either by the police or lumpen elements had become a daily occurrence, and alleged that this phenomenon has the backing of the BJP government.

“Yesterday’s bone-chilling attack on students and teachers in JNU, Delhi, is a grim reminder of the extent the government will go to stifle and subjugate every voice of dissent,” the statement said.

“Students and youth need affordable education, a deserving job, a promising future and a right to participate in our thriving democracy. Sadly, the Modi government seeks to suffocate and restrain each one of these aspirations,” it added.

Unprecedented violence was witnessed in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Sunday as several masked individuals, both male and female, thrashed students, including girls, and teachers inside the campus with wooden and metal rods, injuring at least 34 people.

The JNU students’ union has alleged that the attackers were “unknown ABVP goons”. However, the RSS-affiliated outfit has denied the charges.

Earlier, Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi also condemned the incident strongly and attacked the Central government over the violence.