Jadavpur University Is a ‘Hub of Anti-National Elements’: BJP

Filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri claimed he was manhandled and gheraoed by some students and that the glass pane of his car was shattered in the commotion. (Photo: IANS)

A day after rival groups of students clashed on the Jadavpur University campus, West Bengal Governor KN Tripathi said the varsity is fast turning into a “centre for disturbance”.

“The authorities should take stern action against them,” he said on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the BJP in West Bengal termed the university as a “hub of anti-national elements” and accused the opposition CPI(M) and the varsity’s vice-chancellor of supporting them.

Rival groups of students clashed at the campus on Friday over the screening of Vivek Agnihotri’s political film, Buddha in a Traffic Jam, triggering chaos. Some girls were allegedly molested. And BJP actor-turned-politician Roopa Ganguly was not allowed to enter its premises.

The fracas began after the film’s screening ended late in the evening, and students from ABVP fought with activists of Left-backed student unions in which a few of them received minor injuries, officials said.

Student unrest has become a common phenomenon in Jadavpur University. The screening of a film, cleared by the Censor Board, was stopped illegally. The trend of CPI(M) and Left-backed student unions of JU has been to stop anything that is against their ideology, which is totally against the country’s democratic set up. We condemn it.

Dilip Ghosh, state BJP chief

“Jadavpur University is a hub of anti-nationals. Left- backed students unions are breeding ground for anti-nationals and that is why we have seen anti-India slogans being raised by a section of JU students,” he alleged.