JNU campus row: Students should project views in civilised way, says Farooq Abdullah

The remarks come hours after Delhi police made a series of arrests on charges of making anti-India slogans during an event at the campus.

New Delhi: Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah on Saturday deplored the ongoing unrest in Jawaharlal Nehru University and said the students should have projected their views in a more civilised way.

“If they had to project their views, they should have done in a more civilised way,” Abdullah said.

The remarks come hours after Delhi police made a series of arrests from the campus on charges of making anti-India slogans during an event.

However, several political parties have criticised the police action against the students and demanded the early release of those detained.

Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi is likely to visit JNU and meet the students today. He will be accompanied by Congress leaders Anand Sharma and Ajay Makan.

Earlier in the day, CPI-M leaders Sitaram Yechury, Nilotpal Basu and D Raja along with JD(U) leader KC Tyagi visited Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the JNU issue.

Meanwhile, backing the police action, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju said that “anti-national slogans unacceptable anywhere”.

“This is an unfortunate incident. We can’t allow JNU to be a hub of anti-nation activities. Freedom of expression can’t be absolute and unqualified. There has to be reasonable restriction,” Rijiju said on the JNU campus row.