West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday was forced to leave without attending convocation at the Calcutta University following protests by students against the controversial citizenship law. Dhankar's car was welcomed with 'governor go back' slogans as students gheraoed him at Kolkata's Nazrul Mancha.
"Uppermost thought in mind while leaving Calcutta University without attending the convocation is to ensure there is no compromise on immense respect we have for Nobel laureate Abhijit Vinayak Banerjee on whom we are conferring honorary D Litt," ANI quoted Dhankar as saying.
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Reportedly, the ruckus surrounding Dhankar's visit delayed the convocation ceremony by an hour. The governor was not allowed by students to get out of the car. Later, the governor was taken to the auditorium on police escort where he was again blocked by students shouting the 'go back' slogans. The students refused to back off unless the governor left the venue.
Eventually, Dhankar left the auditorium and the event started sans him. The students were seen carrying posters and placards opposing Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC). Nobel laureate Abhijit Banerjee is expected to deliver the convocation address.
According to The Hindu, in the absence of the governor, the university Vice Chancellor, Sonali Chakravarty Bondhopadhyay, will confer the D. Litt on Banerjee.
