Kolkata, Nov 7 (PTI) Presidency University has expelled two female students for allegedly writing abusive remarks on a poster having a photo of Swami Vivekananda and using derogatory language against other organisations, a university official said on Saturday.
The decision was taken after an inquiry committee examined CCTV footage and heard from various stakeholders, he said.
The two students have been barred from participating in further academic activities at the university and will not be eligible for admission to any future degree programme at the institution, the official told PTI.
In a statement, the university said it has always upheld dignified academic discourse and debate on scientific and socio-political issues, adding that it would not tolerate abuse directed at thinkers, ideas or organisations.
The controversy began after the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) alleged that a poster carrying a photo of Swami Vivekananda, put up by the organisation on the university campus on October 13, was defaced with derogatory remarks.
The ABVP subsequently lodged a police complaint seeking an impartial investigation and action against those responsible. It also staged a protest outside the university gate.
Meanwhile, the SFI has condemned the institution's decision to debar two female students -- one an alumnus and the other a postgraduate student, calling the punishment excessive and warning that it could jeopardise their academic futures.
In a statement issued by its Presidency University unit, the SFI said it did not support defacing posters carrying portraits of eminent personalities, irrespective of the political organisation that put them up.
The SFI currently controls the university's students' union, though student union elections have not been held for several years.
However, the organisation said the university administration should have handled the matter with greater sensitivity before taking a decision that could seriously affect the students' academic careers.
"We neither endorse the incident nor support the actions of those involved. However, disciplinary measures must be corrective, rehabilitative and proportionate, not punitive or retaliatory," SFI Presidency unit office-bearer Beetan Islam said.
The organisation said the university administration had set a "deeply dangerous precedent" by imposing a punishment that could destroy the academic futures of the two students.
The SFI also criticised the ABVP for using Vivekananda's portrait to advance what it described as a narrow political agenda, claiming that the philosopher's pluralistic worldview was incompatible with the ideology of the RSS, BJP and ABVP.
The organisation said its political and ideological struggle against these forces on university campuses would continue.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)