JU students protest inside campus as ABVP supporters rally outside

Students of Jadavpur Universtiy (JU), belonging to Left organisations, gathered outside the university gate number four and shouted slogans against Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), some of the supporters of which were allegedly involved in molesting some students while the screening of the movie, ‘Buddha in a Traffic Jam’ was going on inside the JU campus.

On Friday a clash broke out Friday between the ABVP supporters and Faculty of Arts Students (FAS) and Democratic Students Federation (DSF) while Think India, a wing of BJP students’ body ABVP organised the screening of the film.

The DSF and FAS alleged that some ABVP supporters had molested some of the students and that had triggered clash between the two groups. ABVP leaders, however, denied the allegation and said that there was no incident of the molestation at the campus during the screening of the film.

ABVP, BJP’s students’ wing on Monday took out a counter rally from Golpark alleging that the Jadavpur University had become a “hub of anti-national activities”.

Though some people believe that ABVP took out the rally only to counter the rally which was organised by JU students belonging to various Left organisations last Saturday. A section of JU students, led by the Left-backed Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union (FETSU), took out a protest march demanding arrest of ABVP supporters and a campus free of “BJP-RSS-ABVP terror”.

Hundreds of ABVP workers on Monday took out the rally from Golpark at around 4.30 pm and when they reached the Jadavpur police station, police stopped their way. Police had earlier set up the first barricade near Jadavpur Police station. The demonstrators tried to break the barricade but a huge contingent of police formed human and managed to keep the barricade in place and restricted the ABVP workers from moving further towards the JU.

The demonstrators shouted their slogans against the Left organisations who they claim have turned the university into the hub of anti-national activities. The incident could have turned ugly if the ABVP supporters could reach the gate number 4 where the JU students were staging demonstration.

Police had made adequate arrangements to prevent any untoward incident and they successfully managed to do so by restricting the demonstrators at the first barricade.

The ABVP had plan to take out the rally at 3 pm but they had deferred by one hour after JU Vice-chancellor Suranjan Das had urged the ABVP leaders not to do so as there were some exams at the university. Das had also urged them to maintain peace so that no trouble is broken out at the university campus.

Police took no chances and fortified JU by putting up barricades at the entrances. ABVP activists were carrying tricolours and wanted to finish off the rally at Jadavpur 8B bust stand which the police did not allow.

Governor K N Tripathi intervened and sought a report from Vice Chancellor on the issue of the clash over an open-air screening of the film on Friday. JU authorities had lodged a police complaint against outsiders, including three ABVP activists, for allegedly molesting female students during the event.

VC Suranjan Das had said on Sunday that any organisation or party can hold peaceful rally but it should not hamper the peace within the university campus. As some entrance examinations for the admission in the post graduate courses in Arts department in the afternoon, they might face some inconveniences.

“We appeal to the organizers of the rally to maintain peace so that no trouble breaks out inside the campus. An entrance examination for the admission to post graduate courses and also online engineering examinations are scheduled to take place,” Das said.