A day after Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu’s car ran through a demonstration at the Jadavpur University (JU) in Kolkata, CPI(M) students wing Students’ Federation of India (SFI) held agitations in different parts of West Bengal Sunday to condemn the incident. The SFI has demanded Basu’s resignation. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), on the other hand, threw its weight behind Basu, claiming the minister was manhandled and his vehicle vandalised by the protesting students.
A massive student protest led by the SFI and other leftwing student organisations was held at the premier institute Saturday, demanding that student union elections be held at the earliest. After leaving the campus, Basu was admitted to the state-run SSKM hospital, where doctors declared him stable. The protesters have alleged that some students got injured as the minister’s vehicle drove through a crowd of agitating students.
CPI(M) state secretary Md Selim likened Saturday’s incident to the 2021 Lakhimpur-Kheri episode when protesting farmers were run over by a BJP leader’s car in Uttar Pradesh.
Mayukh Biswas, Secretary, SFI, said, “In a shocking display of violence, the education minister’s vehicle ran over a protesting student like the Lakhimpur-Kheri incident (during kisan movement), while hooligans indiscriminately assaulted others, leaving several students injured and hospitalised. The government later falsely claimed that the students had attacked the minister. We stand in full solidarity with the protesting students of Jadavpur University. The West Bengal Committee of SFI has already called for… a student strike across all universities on March 3rd.”
Meanwhile, TMC leaders also hit the streets condemning the ‘attack’ on the minister by Left-backed student organisations. Youth Affairs Minister Aroop Biswas, TMC Jadavpur MP Saayoni Ghosh, local TMC MLA Debabrata Majumder, along with thousands of supporters held a protest outside the Jadavpur Police Station Saturday, demanding action against those responsible for the alleged vandalization of Basu’s car.
Saayoni Ghosh said, “Today the West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu was attacked at Jadavpur University. We are here to condemn this…”
Minister Biswas said, “We can capture Jadavpur University in five minutes, but we will not because we learnt from our leader Mamata Banerjee to lead protests in a democratic environment.”
However, a senior TMC leader sounded a note of caution. “Party stood behind Bratya Basu with full force. Kunal Ghosh also went to SSKM hospital to meet him. That is a good gesture. But we saw how the minister’s car ran over a student. That is not a good picture for us. The CPI(M) is trying to take advantage of the incident by comparing it to the Lakhimpur incident.”