New Delhi: The J&K Students Association on Thursday reacted to Uttarakhand chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat’s comments on students from Jamia Millia Islamia and Kashmir visiting the state to provoke people by urging him to ensure the safety of the latter instead of issuing ‘bizarre’ statements.

In a statement, the group’s spokesperson Nasir Khuehami said a line like this from a chief minister “is not acceptable at any cost”.

The chief minister made the comment upon being asked on anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests at Dehradun’s Haldwani. The protests at the location are similar to those at Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh, with a large participation of women.

“I have received inputs that some people from Jamia Millia and Kashmir have come to Uttarakhand with motives to disrupt the law and order situation by instigating people. I warn such people to not enter Uttarakhand as we will not tolerate this and strict action will be taken against them.

“People have the right to hold peaceful protests in a democratic manner but we will not allow people from outside to provoke the people of Uttarakhand,” Rawat was quoted by PTI as having said.

“The Uttrakhand CM should immediately take back his statement. The way he is behaving is condemnable,” he said.

Urging students not to react to the chief minister’s words, Khuehami said, “We urge all Kashmiri studying to desist from any activity that could disrupt peace. We request all Kashmiri students to be patient, silent and behave wisely and sensibly and save their careers. Let us not involve ourselves in the mess. Do not give anybody a single chance to ruin your career.”

Asserting that statements like these serve to push Kashmiri students to an atmosphere of fear, as they had been in when the Pulwama backlash took place, the student’s association urged the chief minister to make sure such students feel safe.

Anti-CAA protests in the locality surrounding Jamia Millia Islamia University in New Delhi saw police crackdown of an unforeseen brutality in December. Kashmir, meanwhile, remains under a social media lockdown after a prolonged internet lockdown was lifted nearly five months after it was imposed in August.