Kolkata, March 4 (IANS) The acting vice chancellor of Jadavpur University Bhaskar Gupta, on Tuesday, mooted a proposal for a judicial panel probe in the ruckus within the university campus last week in which two students were severely injured and hospitalised allegedly being hit by the vehicle of the West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu, who was himself reportedly heckled by the agitating students there.
On Tuesday, Gupta mooted this proposal at a meeting with the representatives of different college and university teachers’ associations in the matter. Since Gupta is on bedrest after he fell sick following Saturday’s ruckus, he participated in the meeting virtually.
“The matter of conducting the elections for the students’ council of Jadavpur University, the issue on which the students were agitating on Saturday, also came up for discussion at the meeting,” said a university faculty member present at the meeting.
At the same time, there were moments of difference at the meeting between the representatives of the Left-affiliated Jadavpur University Teachers’ Association (JUTA) and those of Trinamool Congress-affiliated West Bengal College & University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA).
The JUTA representatives demanded registration of FIRs on the event of two students being hit by the minister’s vehicle. However, the WBCUPA representatives objected to that and instead demanded a probe on the arsenal at the office of a Trinamool Congress-affiliated body within the university campus on Saturday night.
CPI(M)’s student wing Students’ Federation of India (SFI) has expressed anguish on why the acting vice-chancellor is not holding a meeting with the students and discussing how normalcy can be restored and the date of election for the students’ council can be announced.
“When the acting vice-chancellor could have a meeting with the teachers; what was his problem in having a similar online interaction with the students?” questioned an SFI leader.
The ruckus broke out within the university campus on Saturday when the Minister’s car was allegedly stopped after it entered the campus, and a scuffle followed. The students were demanding immediate elections for the university’s students’ council.
The agitating students alleged that while Basu decided to leave the campus in the face of the protests by students, his vehicle deliberately hit the two agitating students following which they were severely injured and had to be hospitalised.
On Saturday, amid the protests, the Minister received minor injuries and fell sick. He was taken to the state-run S.S.K.M. Medical College & Hospital and was discharged later.
–IANS
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