Will uproot forces raising ‘anti-national’ slogans, says West Bengal CM

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari on Wednesday renewed his pledge to “uproot” forces raising slogans such as “Kashmir demands freedom” on the Jadavpur University (JU) campus and said he would not tolerate any insult to the saffron colour.

Mr. Adhikari was addressing a gathering outside the campus after leading the ‘Gerua Samman Yatra’. The march, from Golpark to Jadavpur, was attended by hundreds of saints and seers dressed in saffron. Thousands of people and several MLAs also took part in the march.

“I have taken a vow that in Jadavpur, those who raise slogans like ‘Kashmir mange azaadi’ and ‘red salute to Kishenji (slain Maoist leader)’ and write ‘gerua gundami (saffron hooliganism)’, I will rip you out from your roots,” Mr. Adhikari said.

The Chief Minister had recently called for an inquiry into alleged “anti-national” graffiti and posters that surfaced on the JU campus following alleged clashes between students belonging to the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and Left-leaning groups such as the Students’ Federation of India.

Addressing the gathering, he said he would come back to Jadavpur twice — once to teach a lesson to the people who are insulting saffron and the nation, and then to recite the Gita and the Hanuman Chalisa.

Mr. Adhikari warned that people should “think five times” before making or writing offensive remarks about the saffron colour. He said any such insult would not be tolerated by the BJP government.

New appointments

Meanwhile, JU removed Acting Registrar Selim Baksh Mondal and appointed Debjit Dutta as the interim Registrar. Indrajit Bandyopadhyay was appointed as the Acting Finance Officer in place of Shiladitya Chattopadhyay.