CM to lead ‘saffron march’ from Golpark to JU on Wednesday
Times of India | 7 September 2026
Kolkata: Chief minister Suvendu Adhikari will lead a “saffron march” from Gol Park to Jadavpur University on Wednesday. Party sources said Adhikari would lead the rally himself to honour the prestige, sacrifice and ideals associated with saffron.
The banner for the rally, which has gone viral on social media, says the march will carry the message that saffron is not merely a colour but a symbol of renunciation, self-dedication and Sanatan tradition.
The rally comes close on the heels of a massive Independence-themed mobilisation, titled “10,000 voices for Vande Mataram”, held around the university campus on Rakhi Purnima and led by Adhikari.
The development also comes amid hard-hitting statements by BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya, who said on Sunday, “Those shouting anti-India slogans inside universities will have to be broken into pieces.”
“Those who shout slogans calling for the country to be divided will be identified. The police will have to ensure that they do not remain in good health. Those who say Bharat tere tukde honge (India will be fragmented) should be broken into pieces. This has to be enforced in West Bengal, and we will not allow such a situation anymore,” he said while attending the Khuti Puja of Satadal Sangha in Bowbazar.
Bhattacharya has in recent months spoken against radical forces. In July, following violence at a Kolkata rally, he warned that groups raising anti-national slogans would “end up in hospitals”. Earlier last month, he called for “urban Naxals” to be identified.
Maintaining that the BJP would stay away from politics on campuses, Bhattacharya said, “A party that has become disconnected from the masses has raised such slogans inside universities. The BJP will not enter any university campus. The govt is also not in favour of sending the police into universities.”
Panchayat minister Dilip Ghosh, critical of Leftist forces on campuses, said the quality of education in Bengal had declined and a nationalist education system would be implemented.
“Nationalist ideologies are entering Bengal’s politics, and educational institutions will benefit from this. Vidya Bharati and Bichar Bharati, organisations affiliated with the RSS, have been working in the field of education for a long time. They should also start working in Bengal,” he said.
At Bidhannagar, Bhattacharya cautioned against forces trying to divide people on religious lines.