West Bengal Schooling Minister Bratya Basu on Sunday confronted protests by a bunch of scholars of a Kolkata faculty, who alleged that outsiders led by a Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) chief threatened them for organising Saraswati Puja on the institute campus.
West Bengal Schooling Minister Bratya Basu on Sunday was greeted by ‘We Need Justice’ slogans from feminine college students as he went contained in the legislation faculty campus. (File picture)
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Issues got here to a head on January 29 when college students of the legislation faculty, majority of them ladies, alleged they had been being prevented from organising the puja on faculty premises by members of TMCP led by ex-student Sabir Ali and even confronted rape threats by them.
One of many lady college students then moved the Calcutta Excessive Courtroom looking for its intervention and the choose ordered that the scholars have to be allowed to have fun the pageant and requested a top-ranked official of Kolkata Police to observe their safety posting sufficient personnel on the faculty gate.
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One basic faculty and a legislation faculty are run in the identical constructing at totally different instances of the day. College students of the 2 schools have been individually organising the puja on the identical campus for years. The state of affairs, nevertheless, is totally different this 12 months.
Basu, who was accompanied by native Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy, was greeted by ‘We Need Justice’ slogans from the feminine college students as he went contained in the legislation faculty campus and met them.
“I am here to talk to you. None will coerce you, terrorise you or threaten you. If anyone has issued any threat, we will take strong action against him,” the training minister stated.
A number of of the feminine college students broke down earlier than him and alleged that whereas coming into the faculty, they had been threatened with assault and rape by some “outsiders”.
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“I have met the students, I had a darshan of the idol and offered prayers. I have assured the students we will look into their grievances and appropriate action will be taken after inquiry, Basu said.
He said he would meet them and the college authorities on February 5-6 to discuss the issues.
Rejecting the allegations, Ali said, “We’re organising the Saraswati puja of the day part within the adjoining lane of the faculty. No threats have been issued towards anybody. They can not present any such video (of issuing threats).”
He also added that being an alumnus of the day college, he has every right to be part of the Saraswati Puja.
Mala Roy said, “Saraswati Puja is just not the event to shout slogans demanding justice.”
The MP stated she and the training minister visited each puja pandals erected by the scholars of the 2 schools.
“There was no provocation or aggression proven by the Saraswati puja organises of the day part. Every thing is being carried out as ordered by the honourable excessive court docket within the presence of the police.
“There are causes to suspect that these demanding justice are backed by political parts who wish to disrupt the educational functioning of the legislation faculty and foment hassle throughout the Saraswati puja,” she said.
Senior minister Firhad Hakim said that in West Bengal, occasions like Saraswati Puja and Durga Puja are both social and relligious events where people from different communities take part with equal gusto.
“But some forces are trying to disrupt the prevailing communal harmony in the state. They want to vitiate the atmosphere by using isolated incidents of squabble between two individuals. Their political ploy will never succeed,” Hakim stated.
Chief of opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP alleged that West Bengal is popping into Bangladesh as Saraswati Pujas are being organised beneath the watch of police.
“I ask all religious Hindus to be united and foil the sport plan of radical Islamist parts sheltered by the TMC,” Adhikari stated.