‘What azadi do you want?’ Suvendu Adhikari’s warning to Jadavpur University students
The Chief Minister alleged that some students consume narcotics such as heroin, ganja and fensidyl syrup, and questioned their calls for ‘azadi’
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday issued a warning to students with a communist bent of mind at Jadavpur University (JU), stating that the locality was once referred to as ‘Lenin Nagar’ after Russian leader Vladimir Lenin. Adhikari was speaking at an event on brotherhood
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday issued a warning to students with a communist bent of mind at Jadavpur University (JU), stating that the locality was once referred to as ‘Lenin Nagar’ after Russian leader Vladimir Lenin. Adhikari was speaking at an event on brotherhood
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday issued a warning to students with a communist bent of mind at Jadavpur University (JU), stating that the locality was once referred to as ‘Lenin Nagar’ after Russian leader Vladimir Lenin. Adhikari was speaking at an event on brotherhood
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Friday issued a warning to students with a communist bent of mind at Jadavpur University (JU), stating that the locality was once referred to as ‘Lenin Nagar’ after Russian leader Vladimir Lenin.
Adhikari was speaking at an event on brotherhood organised on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan. The programme, held a stone’s throw from JU, featured the singing of Vande Mataram, with participants holding the Indian national flag.
The Chief Minister alleged that some students consume narcotics such as heroin, ganja and fensidyl syrup, and questioned their calls for ‘azadi’.
“What azadi do you want? Freedom to have heroin? Freedom to have ganja? Freedom to have drugs? Tukde-tukde gang. These outcasts! When 45 CRPF jawans were killed by Pakistani terrorists in Awantipora (Pulwama attack), they were not seen holding protest rallies,” Adhikari said. Issuing an open challenge, he added, “I will expose you. I am that Police Minister.”
Drawing a parallel with the state’s past, Adhikari referred to the Maoist movement in West Bengal and said he ended the communist rule in Nandigram and closed the chapter on the Maoist movement in Junglemahal.
The Chief Minister also referred to the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests at Jantar Mantar in Delhi, claiming that slogans demanding ‘azadi’ were not raised there but were heard during protests in Kolkata. He further alleged that students were threatened and forcibly taken from hostels to participate in the rally.
Adhikari also questioned the presence of graffiti in the Arts Hostel carrying messages such as ‘Free Palestine’ and ‘We salute Kishenji’, referring to the slain Maoist leader who was killed in an encounter with joint security forces in West Midnapore district in 2011. “Why don’t you write Free Kashmir?” Adhikari asked.
His remarks came in the backdrop of an incident on the night of August 19, when Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) students allegedly forced their way into JU, destroyed wall graffiti belonging to the Left-backed Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and burnt their flags.
Adhikari said one ABVP student was injured during the incident and that a BJP MLA had also visited the university. He alleged that a media house had wrongly portrayed the incident as an attempt at the ‘saffronisation’ of the university and demanded an apology.
At a time when tensions surrounding the JU issue remain high, Adhikari’s comments are likely to further intensify the confrontation with Left-wing student organisations, which have been protesting for the past week demanding ideological freedom.