Kolkata, nov 25: Violence erupted at Panihati College in North 24-Parganas over distribution of nomination papers on Tuesday. Dozens of supporters of Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad (TMCP) and local party leaders, including former legislator Nirmal Ghosh, were injured in the clash with SFI cadres.
The police were called in and had to resort to lathicharge to control the situation. Over a dozen students have been arrested.
The incident took place in the morning when the college authorities began distributing nomination forms for election of class representatives.
“The SFI along with local CPM goons first threatened students not to collect forms for filing nominations. When their threats did not work, armed with hockey sticks and even firearms they attacked the students,” said Arnab Bhattacharjee, district secretary of TMCP, North 24-Parganas.
The student leader said no election has been held in the college for the last 10 years and opposing student groups were not allowed to even put up postersBut the SFI denied the allegations that it was forcing the opposing students’ groups to stay away from the elections.
“What is the purpose of the Trinamool MPs and MLAs at a college election? If the TMCP wants to contest elections they can. We have no objection to it,” said Kaustav Chatterjee, state secretary of SFI. Later, senior Trinamool leaders Partha Chaterjee and Madan Mitra visited the college.
CPM leaders’ siblings goondas: Mamata
Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday hit out at the CPM for the violence in college campuses across the state and blamed the siblings of the Left leaders for “running terror campaigns” in educational institutions.
“CPM goondas’ sons have turned goondas in colleges and are terrorising the students. The sons of CPM ministers are running terror campaigns,” Banerjee told mediapersons at her Kalighat residence when asked to comment on today’s clash at Panihati College that left dozens of students injured. She accused the police of being “mute spectators” as students clashed in the colleges.
–Agencies