Azad writes to Badal over assault on J&K students

Congress on Monday expressed concern over reports of “gruesome assault” on some students from Jammu and Kashmir in Punjab, saying such incidents generate “distrust and break unity” and sought immediate and stern action against the perpetrators.

In a letter to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, Senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said the students have narrated their woes to a local daily of J&K and a cursory reading leads one to conclude that “deep distrust and enormous hatred” prevails in the minds of the attackers.

“...Mob violence and hooliganism is antithetical to the idea of rule of law, democracy and civilised society. This generates distrust and breaks unity. Image of the country as a vibrant and rule-governed democracy also get sullied.

“Unfortunately, such tendencies of dividing the society have grown rampantly across the country after the BJP government has come to power at the Centre,” Azad, the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha, said in the letter and noted that thousands of students from the state were studying in various parts of Punjab which fosters goodwill and peace. Noting that as an astute and seasoned politician, Badal will appreciate the need to arrest the trend, Azad sought “stern” action against those responsible for incident.