According to sources, as university authorities did not grant permission to the ABVP to conduct the screening, members of the outfit assembled on the campus and chanted ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogans. As the authorities led by Datta and some security guards tried to stop the students, a scuffle erupted between both parties which left Datta and the guard injured. They were taken to a local hospital for first aid.
Members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI), meanwhile, shouted counter-slogans at the ABVP members, leading to a minor scuffle. Later, the situation was brought under control by the security guards.
Following the incident, the gates were locked and no one was allowed inside the campus as semester exams were underway. SFI members alleged that the ABVP activists brought in outsiders to celebrate the consecration ceremony.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Tamalina Ghosh, a third-year student and a member of the Arts Faculty Students’ Union (AFSU), said, “The ABVP members did not have permission to hold any such event. They forcefully entered the campus with outsiders to disrupt the academic atmosphere in the campus. They also chanted the ‘Jai Shree Ram’ slogan. We don’t want the peaceful atmosphere of the university to be destroyed. Therefore, we strongly protest such hooliganism.”
To mark their protest, SFI students will hold a demonstration outside the JU campus later in the day.
There was no official reaction from the university authorities. However, JU Registrar Snehamanju Basu told officials that no major commotion took place.
The ABVP, meanwhile, said some students belonging to their outfit wanted to hold a live screening on the campus but were receiving threats from a section of the students.
The outfit’s Jadavpur unit leader Monoranjan Joardar said, “They are the students of the university. They wanted to celebrate the historic moment. They did not seek permission as it is a moment being celebrated across the country. They had faced some threats from a section of the students for planning to do this. But when they tried to hold their programme, they were stopped by the authorities and SFI members. We want the students to have the right to celebrate such moments.”
Joardar said the situation has normalised on the campus and there is no tension at the moment.
On Sunday, the All Bengal University Teachers’ Association (ABUTA) wrote to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Education Minister Bratya Basu and Governor C V Ananda Bose, voicing concerns over attempts to “hold religious activities on the campus which violates the secular spirit and has no relation with education and public interest.”