PANAJI: Standing in solidarity with the students of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) who were beaten by goons on Sunday, National Students Union of India (NSUI), Goa along with other student activists organised a peaceful protest at Azad Maidan on Monday. Condemning the attack on JNU students, Peter D’souza, visiting faculty at Goa University and a first-generation alumnus of JNU said that the situation now is even worse than it was during emergency. “The violence in JNU shows the complicity between the State, police and JNU administration. During emergency, even Indira Gandhi was not allowed to enter the campus, such was the culture. The series of incidents are violation of decency, ‘thugery’ of worst kind promoted by this regime.” “The State is powerful enough to stop the violence and brutality,” he said adding that three of his batchmates –S Jaishankar, Nirmala Sitharaman and Amitabh Kant, who are in the government should either speak up or withdraw their affiliation from the government. Kaustubh Naik, a PhD student of JNU, based in Ponda also condemned the attack adding that such acts of violence such be restrained in educational institutions. “Just because it is happening elsewhere, we can’t be relaxed in Goa. The goons on rampage at JNU attacked any random students in the campus. There should be restriction on this kind of elements entering universities. The government should stand by people who are peacefully protesting because it is their constitutional right.” NSUI Goa wing general secretary Pransenjit Dhage said this is not just an attack on JNU but on all the student community against India. “JNU has been a hub of debates and discussions on liberal ideas. And to suppress their voices the right-wingers have made a scapegoat out of it.” Atleast hundred odd people attended the protest including former student activist Pravin Sabnis. Also present on the occasion was Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) member Valmiki Naik, Youth Congress leader Varad Madolkar, Mahila Congress president Pratima Coutinho beside other activists. On Sunday evening, around 50 masked goons had attacked the JNU campus with iron rods and lathis whereby 23 students and professors were critically injured. JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and Professor Suchitra Sen were among who were badly injured and later shifted to AIIMS.