Chaos Erupts at Jadavpur University: Bengal Education Minister’s Car Attacked and Student Injured

West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu’s vehicle was attacked by protesting students inside Kolkata’s Jadavpur University on Saturday. The incident occurred while Basu was attending a meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA), an organisation affiliated with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC). The students, primarily from various left-aligned student organisations, were protesting and seeking a meeting with the Minister to submit a deputation demanding the holding of Student Union Elections at the university.

The protest erupted when students, demanding a meeting with Bratya Basu over the delay of union elections for the past five years, became agitated after their requests were reportedly denied. According to reports, the Minister had agreed to meet small delegations of four members from the left-aligned organisations, listen to their concerns, and accept their deputations. However, apart from the Students Federation of India (SFI), none of the other left-aligned student organisations were willing to engage, which led to the intensification of the protests.

 Tensions quickly escalated, with shoes thrown at the Minister’s car, the windshield shattered, and slogans raised. The unrest peaked when the Minister’s car reportedly drove over a group of students gathered outside, injuring one. The student was rushed to hospital for treatment, and Basu was later taken to SSKM Medical College and Hospital for a check-up.

“How can such protests and attacks be democratic? We will again hold our convention there. The students tried to provoke us; they want anarchism," said Basu condemning the attack. In the aftermath, members of the WBCUPA filed a complaint with the Jadavpur Police Station. 

"This is absolutely unacceptable. We did not provoke anyone, and all the necessary permissions were obtained, yet we were still attacked. Even the Trinamool Congress office on campus has been vandalised by these left-aligned groups. They attacked us first and are now portraying themselves as the victims. This is truly dismal," said Kishalay Roy, a member of the Trinamool Congress Student Union at Jadavpur University.

The protests also led to multiple allegations of physical attacks on professors. Jadavpur University Professor Om Prakash Mishra, present at the WBCUPA meeting, alleged of being heckled and physically threatened. “They attacked my car, tried to physically attack me. I had to leave my car and walk out," said Mishra. 

Protesting students, however, claimed that the violence was instigated by outsiders who blocked the Minister’s car and had been present from the beginning, alongside the Minister himself. "This was clearly pre-planned by the TMC. They aimed to disrupt the democratic space of the campus by creating chaos. A student was run over by the Minister’s car, and this is absolutely condemnable. All the students were asking for was the holding of union elections," said Zulfiqar Ahmed, a member of the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of CPI(M).

This incident is not the first of its kind at Jadavpur University. In 2019, former Union Minister Babul Supriyo faced a similar attack on his vehicle when he visited the university to speak at a seminar organized by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student body affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). Supriyo, who is now with the Trinamool Congress, was also caught in a violent protest during his visit. Similarly, in the same year, the then Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar was gheraoed by students at Jadavpur University during a visit to the campus. The students, who were protesting against various issues, including the alleged interference in university affairs, surrounded the Governor’s car and prevented it from leaving the campus.