Kolkata: West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar on Friday justified his visit to Jadavpur University to rescue Union minister Babul Supriyo, contending that he had waited “sufficient time” for the state to resolve the matter and left for the institute as the situation did not improve.
Supriyo was on Thursday heckled and gheraoed by a section of students at the university, where he had gone to attend a programme by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), prompting the governor to visit the institute with a huge police contingent.
State Education Minister and TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee had claimed that Dhankar visited the university without informing the government. He accused the governor of adopting a "partisan approach" in blaming the West Bengal government for the ruckus.
“The chief minister 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,” the TMC statement said.
Describing Chatterjee's statement as "unfortunate", Dhankar, who is also the chancellor of the university, said, "Obviously he (Chatterjee) did not know of the developments between the governor and the DGP/CS as also the conversation with the CM. The (TMC's) stand in the release is factually incorrect," he said.
He expressed relief that his visit to the university brought an end to the "unwholesome situation", an official statement said. "Before his visit to the university, the governor exhausted all possible avenues that could bring an end to the unsavoury spectacle by flagging the issue to the DGP and the chief secretary. As a final step, he apprised the chief minister (who was in Delhi) of the grave situation and the consequences it may entail.
"There were many telephonic interactions between the two and he would not like to divulge the conversation between the two, except that he left for the place after sufficient time had elapsed and the situation did not show any change," the statement issued by Raj Bhavan said. “In his capacity as Chancellor, being guardian of the students, he took the call so as to connect with the students in the interest of education and institution,” it further read.
The governor also took serious note of the fact that Vice Chancellor Suranjan Das left the campus in the evening, even as the Union minister of state for forest, environment
and climate change remained gheraoed by the students.
He described the incident of students demonstrating in front of his car on the university campus as a failure on part of the state police. "It's an apparent failure of the state police administration in attending to the situations appropriately," the statement added. He even welcomed students to meet him if they want to discuss any issue.
Dhankar had faced demonstrations by the agitators — members of Left-leaning organisations and the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad — when he visited the campus, following the assault on the Union minister.
He and Supriyo, however, managed to leave the campus with police escort, even as the protest continued till late in the evening. According to university sources, the vice chancellor was admitted to a city hospital after he complained of headache, vertigo, palpitation and nausea.
(With inputs PTI)
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