West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar rescued Babul Supriyo from Jadavpur University campus in Kolkata late evening on September 19. Prior to that, the union minister faced students demonstration for around an hour. The governor was accused of having a "partisan approach" in blaming the West Bengal government for the Jadavpur University fiasco.
During the demonstration, Supriyo was allegedly heckled by the students. He was also shown black flags. A number of students, who reportedly belonged to leftist as well as Trinamool Congress (TMC) unions, did not allow him to leave the campus.
The governor rushed to the university after having come to know of the situation. Dhankhar also faced the demonstration while he tried to take Supriyo out of the campus.
The students were eventually persuaded by their teachers and the police to allow Dhankhar and Supriyo to leave the campus. Supriyo left the campus in the governor's car.
TMC earlier criticised Dhankar and termed it "unfortunate and shocking" that he went to campus without informing the ruling dispensation. TMC secretary general and Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said Dhankar went to the JU campus despite requests by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to not go there and give the government certain time to control the situation.
The comments come hours after Union minister Babul Supriyo was shown black flags and heckled by a section of Jadavpur University students, who also stopped him from leaving the campus, prompting Dhankhar to rush to the campus with a large police force. Supriyo was in the varsity to attend an event organised by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP).
"This is most unfortunate and shocking that our Governor, the custodian of the Constitution of the State, without informing the elected government, went to the so-called rescue of the BJP leader from Jadavpur University," Chatterjee said in a statement.
"BJP leader Babul Supriyo went there to attend the BJP students' wing program without informing the Govt even," he said.
Terming the incident "unfortunate", Chatterjee said: "The state police was waiting outside the university, but were unable to enter in the absence of any communication from the VC (vice-chancellor)."
"(The) governor went there without taking the State Government into confidence. On his way, he rang up the CM," Chatterjee said. "CM requested him several times that the Governor, being the constitutional head, need not go at this moment."
"The CM requested him to give the government some time to peacefully solve the issue. But, instead of taking the government into confidence, the Governor went there to help BJP," the education minister said.
Chatterjee questioned the Dhankar's statement where he said "this is a very serious reflection on the law and order in the state", wondered why the governor did not offer any comment on the vandalism allegedly perpetrated by the BJP and ABVP "goons" in the Jadavpur University campus on Thursday.
"We strongly oppose his political views," Chatterjee said, adding that neither the TMC students' wing nor the police were involved in the incident, which he said was between the Left students' union versus the BJP and Supriyo.
"So question of law and order does not arise. The state police facilitated in taking the BJP leader and the governor out of the troubled spot," Chatterjee said.
The TMC leader said the vandalism in Jadavpur University by "BJP goons" was a stark reminder of what happened in front of Calcutta University during a Lok Sabha election rally and subsequent vandalisation of a bust of Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar in Vidyasagar College.
"We do not have words to condemn such shocking acts of violence and trouble-mongering," he added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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