In what may cause an embarrassment to the Mamata Banerjee government, senior Trinamul Congress leader and MP Saugata Roy on Saturday voiced his anger over the increasing attacks on teachers and growing student violence on the campus. Without mincing words, he named four colleges which were in the news in the last few months for attacks on principals and clashes between rival factions of students.
Significantly, members of Trinamul Chhatra Parishad were involved in all these incidents in all four colleges — City College, Surendranat College, Rampurhat College and Raiganj College. “When I read in the newspaper that City College or Surendranath College was closed down after violent clashes between two groups of students I feel sick to the pit of my stomach. When the principal of Rampurhat College is humiliated or when the principal of Raiganj College is dragged out by the collar and when these incidents are aired on television, I wish I was not alive to witness them,” he added.
Mr Roy, who was minister of state for urban development at the Centre, was among the seven former central Trinamul Congress ministers who were given new jobs by Ms Banerjee on Friday. Mr Roy had been made adviser for the important commerce and industry department.
Mr Roy was addressing a conference of the principals at Asutosh College where he used to teach before joining politics as full-time career. He made it clear that he was extremely pained by the growing lawlessness on the campus. “Such incidents are a matter of shame for any civilised human being. This is a question of civilisation and not of politics,” he said, adding that, “such unsavoury activities should never be tolerated for any political reason,” he said amidst thunderous applause.
He acknowledged that providing security to the teachers in the colleges was the responsibility of the government. Asserting that the state government would fulfil its responsibility, he said: “If you face any problem or feel that you are not getting justice then please inform the government. However, I must tell you that you should also take things in your hands. For instance, if any one principal or teacher is humiliated or hurt then all of you should join hands and organise a satyagraha outside the college gate.”
Strongly condemning attacks on teachers, Mr Roy went so far as to say that students involved in such acts had no right to remain in an educational institution. Mr Roy is the chairman of the governing body of Asutosh college. Today, he was clearly in a mood to call a spade a spade.