TMC lines up counter rally
Both the ruling Trinamool Congress and the political Opposition in Bengal were hardening their stances over the last week’s midnight police assault on Jadavpur University students who had gheraoed the Vice Chancellor demanding impartial enquiry into the alleged sexual assault on a student.
While BJP national spokesperson Meenakshi lekhi called for an independent judicial probe or an enquiry by the National Commission for Women, the students’ wing of the State ruling outfit lined up a counter rally on Monday “in order to register our protest against the ongoing disinformation campaign against the State Government by vested interests who want to draw political mileage by inciting students.”
A grand apolitical rally was organised in Kolkata by the students of Jadavpur University and many other educational institutions.
Saying that the Trinamool Government had no right to remain in power lekhi on Sunday demanded an independent inquiry into the JU incident. The probe “should be held by a retired High Court Judge, preferably a woman judge or a retired Sessions Judge,” she said adding the NCW could also hold an inquiry into the incident.
Saying that she would personally write to the NCW Chairperson the BJP MP said that besides inquiring into the incident the NCW could look into the role played by the police particularly because “girls were beaten up and they were subjected to bad behavior.”
Instead of taking action against the Vice Chancellor and protecting the children the Government was trying to protect him lekhi complained saying “this Government has no right to remain in power.”
The incident snowballed into a major political issue after Abhijit Chakrabarty the VC allegedly tried first to brush the complaint made by the father of a girl who was allegedly dragged into a hostel and molested and then set up a probe committee comprising pro-government members which the students objected to.
They sat on a demonstration in front of the VC’s chamber demanding impartial probe into the incident. Subsequently, Chakrabarty called in the police who did the rest severely assaulting the students in the dead of night. Seven students were arrested and three were hospitalised with severe injuries leading to a wave of countrywide protests.
Meanwhile, even as the students from Bengaluru and Siuri joined their JU mates the ruling party seemed to harden its stance with State Education Minister Partho Chatterjee on Sunday visiting the girl’s family alongwith Trinamool Congress Chatra Parishad president Sankudev Panda reportedly to express their sympathy to the family.