Amid a billowing political controversy over police action against Jawaharlal Nehru University students, the BJP on Tuesday said the government was not fighting students but "anti-national" forces.
"The fight is not between the government and the students, but between the nation and the anti-national forces," asserted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesman M.J. Akbar here.
The BJP's defence of action in the JNU events came a day after several mediapersons were attacked inside a Delhi court complex by persons in lawyers' robes.
"The students did not raise just one anti-India slogan on the JNU campus but many such slogans. The constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but such freedom does not mean people can support secession," Akbar said.