india

Updated: Sep 20, 2019 21:36 IST

West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday refuted the allegations of partisan behaviour hurled by the ruling Trinamool Congress on him and asserted that he visited Jadavpur University (JU) as a guardian after exhausting all avenues.

Amid protests and political blame game over the manhandling of Union minister Babul Supriyo by a section of students at Jadavpur University campus, the governor’s office issued a statement stating Dhankhar had spoken to chief minister Mamata Banerjee before leaving for the Kolkata varsity.

In a statement issued by TMC’s secretary-general Partha Chatterjee late on Thursday, the party alleged that the governor went to the campus despite the Bengal urging him on telephone not to do so.

“The chief minister requested him several times that the governor being the constitutional head need not go at this moment. The CM requested him to give the government some time to peacefully solve the issue,” read the statement.

The governor, in a statement, said he waited for “sufficient time” after speaking to the chief minister and left for the institute after “the situation did not show any change”.

“There were many telephonic interactions between the two and in his high regard that the governor/chancellor has for the CM, personally and for the Office the CM holds, he would not like to divulge the conversation between the two, except that he left for the place after sufficient time had elapsed and the situation did not show any change,” read the statement from Raj Bhavan

This was Dhankhar’s second statement over the JU incident in as many days.

In the evening, TMC issued a second statement reiterating the stand that “universities are autonomous institutions and as per time-honoured tradition, police cannot enter university campus without permission of VC.” The party also said that it was in total solidarity with the VC. Faculty and students of JU.

The statement also said that the party expects that the governor must give justice to VC, professors and students.

Unprecedented scenes were witnessed at the Jadavpur University campus on Thursday when Union minister Babul Supriyo was heckled by a few hundred agitating students for more than five hours before eventually being rescued by the governor.

On Thursday night, Partha Chatterjee said the party “strongly opposed” Dhankhar’s “political views” in a statement where the governor said that the JU incident was reflective of the law and order situation in the state.

“The CM requested him to give the government some time to peacefully solve the issue. But, instead of taking the government into confidence, the governor went there to help the BJP,” alleged Chatterjee.

In response to TMC’s allegations, The governor said that it had become necessary “as the vice chancellor and pro-vice chancellor had left the University even as Supriyo was stopped from leaving the campus by the agitating students.

“As a final step before going, the governor took the initiative in connecting with the chief minister and duly apprised her of the grave situation and the consequences it may entail. There were many telephonic interactions between the two,” read the statement.

Lok Sabha MP Kalyan Banerjee said on Friday that Dhankhar’s role was “unconstitutional” and that he “acted beyond his jurisdiction”.

On Friday afternoon, the BJP state unit took out a rally from its headquarters in north Kolkata to Esplanade in central Kolkata, protesting the heckling of Supriyo by students of JU, while ABVP, the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), demonstrated outside the JU campus and in central Kolkata.

Protesting the vandalism of the arts faculty students’ union allegedly by ABVP supporters, supporters of various Leftwing student organizations took out two rallies in south Kolkata.

BJP state president Dilip Ghosh, however, defended the action of the ABVP supporters in the student union room.

“It is appropriate that the union office was ransacked. Just as we demolished the camps in Pakistan in surgical strike, the rooms that are cradles of anti-nationals should be demolished… We know how to break the arms that attacked Babul,” said Ghosh in a press conference.

Two separate complaints were lodged at Jadavpur police station – one alleging physical assault and abuse by fashion designer-turned-BJP leader Agnimitra Paul, who accompanied Supriyo to the JU campus, and another by students who lodged a counter-complaint against the minister, Paul and others for assaulting them (students) and inciting vandalism of the union room.

The police did not offer any comment on the complaints till evening.

Supriyo, meanwhile, took to Twitter to reveal the identity of one of those who attacked him posting a photo of a person pulling his hair. JU students, on the other hand, shared with the media yjr photo of one of those involved in ransacking of the union room.

The person seen in the photo shared by Supriyo was identified as Debanjan Chatterjee, a member of the United Students’ Democratic Front. BJP leaders branded it as a “Maoist-influenced organisation.”

Chatterjee said in a written statement: “The minister has posted my identity, address, father’s name and links to my social media account paving the way for a witch hunt and even mob lynching.”

The person in the photo shared by Left students was identified as Suranjan Sarkar, a postgraduate student of mass communication at JU and the state unit joint secretary of ABVP.

Sarkar could not be contacted for comments.