A torch rally took place in Kolkata against the violence in Jawaharlal Nehru University yesterday, when a mob wreaked havoc inside the university. The rally began at College Square and proceeded to Raj Bhavan. It was attended by students from Calcutta University, Presidency College, and others, including faculty members.
West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee had condemned the violence last night and sent a delegation from the Trinamool Congress to Delhi. The delegation went to JNU but was reportedly prevented from entering by the Delhi police. Banerjee also called the violence a “fascist surgical strike”.
At the rally in Kolkata, a group of students from Presidency College, who started marching towards the Bharatiya Janata Party’s office near Girish Park, were stopped by the Kolkata police. The police said this was a “cautionary step”.
Ankita Tarafdar, a student of economics, said she participated in the rally to make sure that attackers would not have the “courage to repeat anything of this sort again”. “These RSS-BJP goons have crossed all limits,” she said. “Today is was JNU. Tomorrow it could be any college.”
Pradip Basu, Dean of Arts at Presidency College, said, “This is a corrupt government that helped people like Vijay Mallya and Nirav Modi flee the country. And now, they are out there to suppress any voice that could be threatening to this fascism.”
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