Kolkata: A day after AISA national president Neha Bora’s event at Jadavpur University (JU), VC Chiranjib Bhattacharjee dissolved the programme approving and monitoring committee that gave permission to the event at K P Basu Memorial Hall. The venue was shifted midway to the space in front of Gandhi Bhavan due to huge participation.Explanation has been sought dean of students and chairman of the committee in this regard.A circular signed by Bhattacharjee read, “All such activities will be looked after by the registrar till further order.”An official said, “There has been a bit of a departure in the process of preliminary approval. The panel is a recommending body only. The registrar was not informed and his approval was missing.”ABVP JU unit members submitted a letter to authorities on Monday and demanded a probe into how permission was granted to the event featuring “outsiders” and “political persons”, citing a court order directing the varsity not to hold any function or seminar where political functionaries are invited. “We welcome this move but a probe must be conducted against the committee,” said ABVP JU unit general secretary Sanjiban Das Barman.The permission was sought on Sept 20 and received on Sept 24. A source said, “The chairman of the committee gives approval to events that are student-related and have no issues. Since the joint registrar, who is in charge of the estate section, is also the convener, the process is forwarded and the hall is booked. In case of complicated matters, it is referred to the higher authorities. The permission for Monday’s event was given as it was a student-related event pertaining to NEP and NTA. Speakers were not disclosed at that time. When objections were raised, we held a meeting on Monday morning. The students were also there. Since nod was given, VC asked them to continue with the programme peacefully.”AISA JU unit secretary Saptak said, “We followed the protocol to book the hall and whatever was asked, we provided them. If MLA Sarbari Mukhopadhyay can enter campus, why can’t students and researchers of other universities? Moreover, we held the convention on certain national issues like NEP, deletion of voting rights and NTA. It is natural that if views differ from BJP and RSS, they will try all means to suppress them.”SFI member Eshana Sen said, “We went to the registrar to publish a guideline on how students can book halls since the committee has been dissolved. Moreover, students are not being given permission to screen films. But the registrar did not take any accountability.On Sept 3, a “Nationalist Convention” by Haripada Bharati Smriti Raksha Samiti took place at Triguna Sen auditorium where MLA Mukhopadhyay and BJP neta Rahul Sinha delivered a speech. The auditorium is on the campus and managed by the alumni association. A youth convention was held on the OAT premises to mark the centenary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). One of the organisers said, “We got permission for OAT from the registrar a day before the event.”DYSA member Anubhab Gupta said, “The registrar on Monday said the event permission would be revoked, hours before the event. But the VC let us continue it peacefully. A campus is a democratic space where different ideologies and views coexist. If right-wing organisations book a hall to screen ‘Bengal Files’ and bring ministers and netas, the students can also invite student activists and researchers to talk on national issues.”
