Bengal minister threatens 'surgical strike' on 'anti-national' forces at Jadavpur
Dilip Ghosh escalated the Jadavpur University row by threatening a surgical strike on alleged anti-national forces. His remarks sharpened political tensions after fresh campus clashes and drew a sharp SFI rebuttal.
West Bengal minister Dilip Ghosh on Tuesday said there would be a ‘surgical strike’ on what he called anti-national forces active on the Jadavpur University campus, where clashes were reported between Left-leaning student groups and the ABVP. He said the BJP government in the state would ensure that “all such pro-Kashmir azadi seekers are rightly dealt with”.
Ghosh claimed that these “pro-azadi forces” in the university had behaved in a “despicable manner” with dignitaries such as then Union minister Babul Supriyo and former state governor Jagdeep Dhankhar. He was referring to the student agitation against Supriyo’s entry to attend an ABVP event on September 29, 2019, and demonstrations against Dhankhar during his tenure as Governor and chancellor.
A general meeting of the Faculty of Engineering and Technology Students’ Union on the evening of August 19 was followed by clashes between members of the RSS-affiliated ABVP and Left-leaning student groups at the university early on August 20, leaving several students injured. Both sides accused each other of bringing outsiders into the campus.
In a related incident on August 20 afternoon, supporters of the SFI and the ABVP scuffled with the police while trying to enter the campus from two ends of the same road, as police personnel tried to hold them back. During the melee, the university’s emblem was pulled down from gate number 4.
Speaking to reporters, Ghosh, a former state BJP president and now the Panchayat and Rural Development minister, said, “There will be a surgical strike on the tukde tukde gang, those who write anti-national graffiti on (Jadavpur University) campus walls and beat up ABVP workers for spreading nationalist views.” He added, “JU will be cleansed of ultra-left pro-azadi elements. Unlike previous regimes in the state, the BJP (government) will give them a taste of their own medicine. We have zero tolerance to these forces and are committed to ensure a peaceful academic atmosphere in JU.”
Responding to the remarks, the SFI said the minister’s statement reflected “the threatening, fascist mindset of a hardliner BJP leader”. It said such comments would be protested by the “peace-loving, patriotic students of JU who will never allow RSS-BJP to set up their ideology lab on the campus and plot attacks against Left, secular, liberal forces”. The exchange came against the backdrop of recent clashes, allegations from both sides and renewed tension on the Jadavpur University campus.