“Free Palestine” graffiti at Jadavpur varsity angers West Bengal CM
Suvendu Adhikari calls graffiti “anti-national”, orders probe
Kolkata: Chief Minister of BJP-ruled West Bengal state Suvendu Adhikari has targeted students over what he described as “anti-national wall graffiti and drawings” at Jadavpur University (JU), directing the university authorities to investigate the matter.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Adhikari shared a video showing graffiti inside the Arts Division Boys’ Hostel premises, included slogans such as “Free Palestine”, “Freedom for Palestine”, “Break Fascism with Red”, and “Long Live the CPI (Maoists)”. He described the graffiti as “objectionable, sociopathic, violent and Anti-National.”
“Under no circumstances will campus premises be permitted to be used as platforms for spreading deranged propaganda and Anti-India sentiment,” Adhikari said.
He urged the JU vice-chancellor, the principal secretary of the Higher Education Department and other competent authorities to conduct an immediate inquiry and physically verify the area to establish whether the graffiti existed. He called for those responsible to be identified and action taken if the writings were confirmed, saying the West Bengal government followed a “zero tolerance policy towards anti-India activities”.
The directive came shortly after a meeting convened by JU Vice-Chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharjee with stakeholders ended without agreement.
The development comes amid heightened tensions at JU following clashes between supporters of the Hindutva-aligned ABVP and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI). Left-wing students have said that ABVP goons attacked them with the backing of the ruling party, while the university administration and student groups have yet to reach an agreement on measures to resolve the tensions.
