North-24 Parganas (West Bengal) [India]: The leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, hit out at Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over an alleged threat letter to the registrar of Jadavpur University, claiming she has asked to the police away to aid and abet the “anti-national” activities on campus.
Addressing media persons in the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Sunday, the BJP MLA said, “CM Mamata Banerjee actively supports the Naxal and Tukde Tukde gangs at Jadavpur University and has even asked her police to aid and abet these anti-national.”
Dragging the state administration to the controversy around the alleged threat letter to the JU registrar, Adhikari said, “The police are responsible for the threat letter sent to the registrar of Jadavpur University. Mamata Banerjee has asked the police to fully support the anti-national forces in Jadavpur, which is why they refrain from entering the campus and taking action.”
He added, “I, along with some BJP leaders, came under attack while visiting the Jadavpur University. But instead of taking action against the attackers, a complaint was filed against us at Jadavpur police station. The government even moved court against us. The threat to the registrar should be seen in the contest of such lawlessness on campus.”
JU registrar Snehamanju Basu recently received a threat letter after the arrest of an alumus in connection with the death of an undergraduate student in a suspected ragging incident at the university hostel.
On August 9, a first-year UG student, Swarnodip Kundu, died after falling from the second-floor balcony of the JU’s main hostel.
His family alleged that he was a victim of ragging. The incident drew condemnation and outrage across the state.
The protests over the tragic fallout of a suspected ragging incident also impacted the state’s political discourse, with Education Minister Bratya Basu blaming Governor CV Ananda Bose for the student’s demise and the latter retorting, “I’m a responsible Governor and I will be very glad if someone acknowledges it.”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, earlier, launched an anti-ragging helpline number 18003455678 for all educational institutions in the state in the wake of the student death.
CM Banerjee also termed the Jadavpur incident as an ‘eye-opener’.
