Many students injured after BJP goons vandalize SFI meeting in West Bengal
‘We are disciples of Godse who killed Gandhi’, attackers tear Gandhi’s portrait
Kolkata: A public meeting of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) in Birati area of West Bengal was vandalized by BJP and BJYM goons who attacked participants, tore apart Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi’s portrait and injured several Left activists.
The incident took place on October 2 at Banik More in Birati under Nimta police station in North 24 Parganas district during a ‘Save Democracy’ programme scheduled to be addressed by former All India Joint Secretary of SFI Dipsita Dhar and CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty.
SFI said fascistic BJP goons carrying party flags arrived at the venue around 3 pm, objected to the use of microphones, and later ransacked the stage, disconnected the sound system, broke chairs and tore down the backdrop. They hurled stones, footwear and eggs at the participants and tore apart a portrait of Gandhi.
The attackers raised slogans saying “We are the true disciples of Godse, we have killed Gandhi, we are going to kill you also,” and hurled casteist abuses at women activists. SFI leader Dipsita Dhar said girls and elderly women were attacked by male BJP workers.
Videos circulating from the spot showed Dhar holding Gandhi’s portrait as confrontation unfolded. Around 15 SFI members were injured, including one activist who suffered severe eye injury after being punched and hit with stones. He was hospitalized.
Locals said police personnel present at the spot remained silent spectators and did not intervene to stop the attackers. Instead of arresting the BJP goons, police later arrested SFI Central Executive Committee member Akash Kar along with DYFI leader Ankita Chaudhary and a 16-year-old boy without any provocation.
Dipsita Dhar said BJP workers told them that criticizing Narendra Modi and Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar amounts to humiliating the country and branded them as “desh drohi, anti-national and jihadi.” She said the attack was part of a broader pattern of targeting people who question the government.
“When citizens across the country start asking questions, BJP brands them as jihadi, anti-national. In reality, it is the government which is acting against the interests of the people of India,” she said.
SFI in a statement condemned the vandalism and arrests, saying “SFI will not let the dissent of Gandhi’s assassins dictate what we do in this country” and vowed to resist and fight back. The incident occurred when political parties and organisations across India were holding programmes commemorating Gandhi Jayanti and also staging protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over large-scale deletion of voters.
