Some political parties instigating students, says Minister

The State Education minister Partha Chatterjee on Friday criticised some political parties for instigating students to create a chaos in Calcutta University (CU) as the stalemate continued on the campus for the second consecutive day as students shouted slogans and held a rally demanding postponement of their examinations due to the Assembly elections. Chatterjee said that the students are sober and they are aware of their duty. But a political instigation is creating problems in universities over the schedule of examinations. In one university the demand is to postpone the exam and in another university the demand is to bring the examinations forward. The TMCP is not endorsing this confusion and has rescued the Vice-Chancellor (V-C) on Thursday and will continue to protect him. Security has been beefed up on university campuses. Students with identity cards were allowed to enter the campus. On Thursday, the students had created a ruckus and encircled the V-C. They also blocked the university gates and created major traffic chaos at College Street. Police were deployed outside the campus. The V-C was then freed by some students. The V-C has also received a life threatening mail from a student. The police are probing into the matter. In letters to the V-C Sugato Marjit and the state Chief Electoral Officer, the students claimed the third-year CU candidates would face problems owing to the new schedule. "The Assembly elections are scheduled to take place on April 4, 11, 17, 21, 25 and May 5. We will have to sit for our final exams within this volatile period. It will be difficult for students coming from different regions to handle their exams and travel to their hometown to vote," said the letter. "Use of microphones and noisy processions will affect our studies. 

Transport will also be affected during this time." The students further requested to consider their proposal and postpone the third-year examination of Calcutta University until the entire vote process ends. Sugata Marjit, however, on Thursday told the students that the authorities will not postpone the examinations.  Owing to which the agitating students of third -year encircled the VC, who refused to give in. The students hit the streets from College Square to Esplanade on Friday morning but were deferred till late afternoon. The agitating students then went to meet the Governor with the same agenda of postponing the examination. The students marched from College Square. Their representatives divided themselves in to two teams and one team went to meet the Governor while the other went to the Election Commission’s office. The Governor didn’t meet them.