Attack on education minister Bratya Basu ‘planned’ by the Leftists: JU teachers
Telegraph | 5 March 2025
Some of the teachers who were a part of the convention that education minister Bratya Basu went to attend at Jadavpur University on March 1 told a news conference on Monday that the assault on the minister was a “planned attack by a section of Left and extreme-Left supporters bent on disrupting their programme”.
Basu had come to JU to attend the annual general meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA), the Trinamul-backed teachers’ body, on Saturday when he faced protesters demanding campus elections, which had been stalled for five years.
Some of the teachers alleged that the students attacked them with water bottles and chairs, threw slippers and refused to pay heed to repeated appeals to keep calm and let the convention get over.
“A little after 1.30 pm, after Basu entered, the mob barged in shouting slogans, and there was complete chaos. I was addressing the gathering when I found some students tearing the banners that we had put up,” said Pradipta Mukherjee, one of the teachers.
“The minister instructed me to tell the students that he would hear them out in phases. But let the annual general meeting get over first. I conveyed the message. But the students refused to listen. The mob was bent on disrupting the day’s proceedings.”
The teachers said the day’s event was split into two — a seminar in the first half and the organisation’s AGM next.
Around 3.30pm, as the minister was about to leave, the protesting students attacked his car and tried to prevent it from leaving, the teachers said. The car drove off, flinging away student Indranuj Roy, now in hospital with multiple injuries.
Some of the teachers said they had reasons to believe the attack was planned.
“On the afternoon of March 1, Indranuj (the student now in hospital) wrote on social media that ‘Trinamul goons from different colleges were guarding the university’s exit gates’ armed with wickets. The post urged all democracy-loving individuals and organisations to reach the campus at the earliest,” said Arnab Saha, one of the teachers.
“The students went on the rampage, leaving several teachers injured. We tried explaining that an AGM was not the place where students discuss their issues with a minister. But no one was ready to pay heed.”
At least three teachers were left injured while they tried forming a human chain to ensure Basu could walk out and board the car before leaving the university.
Lagnajeeta Chakraborty said she injured her left leg as a chair landed on it.
Rima Roy said her shoulder was wounded when two students kept jumping from one car to another. The cars were part of the education minister’s convoy.
Chandana Saha claimed a section of the protesters shoved and threw her on the ground despite her telling them she was a teacher.
“We are ashamed that students could use such filthy language in the presence of teachers. There were enough provocations. But we stuck to the minister’s advice and did not react,” Roy said.
The teachers said they would hold a rally on Tuesday afternoon and a convention at the Dhono Dhanyo auditorium after the Plus II exams were over.