External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (Source: Twitter/DrSJaishankar) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar (Source: Twitter/DrSJaishankar)

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Monday said there was no ‘tukde tukde’ gang when he was studying in the Jawahar Lal Nehru University. “I can certainly tell you when I studied in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), we didn’t see any ‘tukde tukde’ gang there,” S Jaishankar was quoted as saying during an event in Delhi by ANI.

His statement comes a day after at least 35 students and teachers were injured by masked men wielding sticks, rods and sledgehammers at the campus on Sunday evening, leading to massive outrage and protests across the country. JNU Student Union (JNUSU) president Aishe Ghosh was also injured in the attack.

#WATCH “I can certainly tell you, when I studied in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), we didn’t see any ‘tukde tukde’ gang there,” EAM Dr S Jaishankar at an event in Delhi. pic.twitter.com/9IgIZKQolx — ANI (@ANI) January 6, 2020

“Tukde-Tukde” is a term often used by the right-wing parties to attack the opposition, particularly Left and Left-backed outfits as well as those who support them.

Jaishankar, a JNU alumnus himself, condemned the violence at the campus last night, saying, “Have seen pictures of what is happening in JNU. Condemn the violence unequivocally. This is completely against the tradition and culture of the university.”

Jaishankar also said the current government has a “less lethargic governance mindset” towards solving the stagnant issues of the past. “We are a less lethargic governance mindset today than we were in the past. We are attacking problems with great deal of purpose and determination, not saying that these are problems we are going to leave for future,” he said.

“Lot of what we are doing today are accumulations of problems we have not addressed. Look at the Citizenship issue, it started 50 years ago, Article 370 went on for 70 years, and the Ayodhya issue. We tended to put it off,” he added.

Citing the example of China, Jaishankar said, “We should look at the China story systemically. This China will impact the world more and it is important to understand the thinking of China. It is important there is a leader to leader understanding of each other’s thinking.”

“The big learning out of China is that unless a society has the mindset to decisively address its current issues, it won’t go up in the world,” he added.

He also said that India has been a victim of terrorism like no other country and hence it should never allow terrorism to be normalised. “When Pathankot attack happened even Pakistan accepted who was the perpetrator. On this, this government is very clear who is the victim and who is the perpetrator,” he said.

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