SUPRIYO HELD BY STUDENTS AT JU, RESCUED BY GUV

KOLKATA: Union minister Babul Supriyo’s visit to Jadavpur University resulted in around five hours of high drama on Thursday, with the BJP leader being heckled, pushed, and having his hair pulled by a group of students; stopped from leaving campus for hours; and eventually being rescued by the governor. Videos showed the minister largely keeping his composure even as he argued with the students, mostly affiliated with the Left parties.

KOLKATA: Union minister Babul Supriyo’s visit to Jadavpur University resulted in around five hours of high drama on Thursday evening with the Union minister being heckled, pushed, and having his hair pulled by a group of students; stopped from leaving campus for hours; and eventually being rescued by the governor of West Bengal.

Although the incident didn’t turn ugly, with videos showing the minister largely keeping his composure even as he argued with the students, mostly from the Students Federation of India and Arts Faculty Students Union -- both affiliated with the Left parties -- it is likely to further sour the already poor relationship between the state’s ruling Trinamool Congress and Supriyo’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

Supriyo, the minister of state for environment, forest and climate change, reached the university campus close to 2:45 pm to attend a fresher’s welcome function organised by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh-affiliate Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) at an auditorium inside the campus. Students immediately surrounded him, waving black flags and shouting slogans. They would not let him proceed to the auditorium. For about an hour, the minister continued to argue with the students, who pushed and manhandled him, and also engaged in heated arguments with vice-chancellor Suranjan Das.

The minister said he was hit and kicked by some students. A few agitators also pulled at his hair. The agitators numbered about 500. “Don’t hit me,” Supriyo was heard telling the agitators. “You cannot force me to leave the campus.”

While the minister managed to reach the auditorium around 4pm, the situation worsened when he tried to leave at around 5 pm. The agitators said they would not allow him to leave unless he apologised for his behaviour and for entering the university campus with security guards carrying weapons.

With the standoff continuing even after 6 pm, a statement from Raj Bhavan, the governor’s residence described the incident as “unlawful detention of a Union minister” and “very serious reflection on the law and order of the state and on the conduct of the law enforcing agencies.”

The statement revealed that governor Jagdeep Dhankar spoke to the state’s chief secretary Malay De, who said instructions were being issued to the Kolkata Police commissioner to handle the situation. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee was away on a trip to Delhi.The governor rushed to the campus after vicechancellor Suranjan Das said he would prefer resigning to calling police to the campus.