India News | SFI Members Gherao Bengal Education Minister in JU Campus
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. Demanding immediate holding of students' union elections, members of CPI(M) students wing SFI on Saturday demonstrated in the Jadavpur University campus here on Saturday and gheraoed Education minister Bratya Basu who went there to attend the annual general meeting of West Bengal College and University Professors Association.
Kolkata, Mar 1 (PTI) Demanding immediate holding of students' union elections, members of CPI(M) students wing SFI on Saturday demonstrated in the Jadavpur University campus here on Saturday and gheraoed Education minister Bratya Basu who went there to attend the annual general meeting of West Bengal College and University Professors Association.
Basu, who tried to speak to the agitating students and received their memorandum, was gheraoed by the protestors and his security personnel had a trying time to escort him to his vehicle.
The windscreen of his car was damaged by the protesting students.
Basu was later taken to SSKM Hospital as he felt uneasiness during the gherao but his condition was stated to be stable.
Basu, who is also the president of WBCUPA, said the real undemocratic, unruly self of the left student's outfit was exposed by their protests as they shouted slogans against the members of the teaching community.
"Today those who had protested against saffronisation of the country, those who made tall claims about fighting for democracy, fighting against fascism, today joined hands with fascist forces to demonstrate against me and members of the teaching community just because we did not succumb to their pressure tactics, their intimidatory tactics," Basu said.
He said to a question, "Ram and Bam (left and right) have joined hands to disrupt the peaceful atmosphere on the campus. They manhandled one of our members."
As Basu's car left the spot, many students were seen chasing it paying no heed to the request of JU faculty members who asked them to desist.
Denouncing the protest by SFI students, TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said a section of students misbehaved with one professor Pradipta Mukhopadhyay.
"Those who heckled him will be sternly dealt with. The ruling party's courtesy should not be misconstrued as weakness. Any act of uncivilised behaviour should be dealt with in an appropriate manner," he said.
Police earlier managed to bring Basu inside the campus through another gate as the main gate was blocked by protestors.
SFI leader Kaushiki Bhattacharya said the students only wanted to have a discussion with Basu with the sole demand to conduct students union polls at the earliest.
"We did not resort to violence. It is the TMC outsiders who joined some of their sympathisers on the campus to attack our activists and use abusive language against us," she said.
After Basu's car left, a section of students tore festoons, and banners put up for the WBCUPA AGM and heckled senior faculty members like Omprakash Mishra.
They also vandalised the room of the TMC teachers' wing cell alleging one of their colleagues was injured when his foot was run over by a car, the protesting students alleged.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)