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Bhubaneswar: Activists of Left parties and members of students' outfits hit the streets in the state capital on Monday to protest against the violence at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University, which left at least 34 injured.
With placards and banners -- which read 'stop hooliganism in JNU' and 'save democracy' -- the demonstrators took out rallies in various parts of the city and raised slogans against the BJP-led government at the Centre for its "failure to protect the students and teachers of the university from masked miscreants".
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had condemned the incident and said, "Violence has no space in democracy". He sought "stiff action against the culprits".
A mob of masked young people stormed the JNU campus in south Delhi on Sunday and systematically targeted students in three hostels, unleashing mayhem with sticks, stones and iron rods, hitting inmates and breaking windows, furniture and personal belongings. They also attacked a women's hostel.
Demanding a judicial probe into the incident, senior CPI leader Ram Krushna Panda said the "brutal attack on JNU students must be unequivocally condemned by one and all".
Echoing him, senior CPI(M) leader Janardan Pati said, "Fascist forces" who have no faith in democracy are responsible for the attack on JNU students.
Several protesters, including members of students' unions, demanded that the perpetrators should be punished without delay.
A leader of the All India Democratic Students Organisation (AIDSO) -- which took out a march near Rama Devi Women's University -- said those involved in the attack should be immediately put behind bars.
Accusing the Centre of trying to stifle diverse views, senior Congress leader Debasis Patnaik said "democracy was in danger" in the country.
"It was not just an attack on the students but also the democracy. All liberal-minded individuals must join hands to save democracy," the former MLA added.
(PTI)
