Presidency University: Left student groups condemn defacement of Vivekananda poster, demand probe

KOLKATA: Four Left-affiliated student organisations at Presidency University on Thursday condemned the alleged defacement of a poster having a picture of Swami Vivekananda and demanded an immediate probe into the incident. In a joint statement, the Students' Federation of India (SFI), All India Students' Association (AISA), Revolutionary Students' Front (RSF) and All India Democratic Students' Organisation (AIDSO) said they opposed defacement and vandalism and denied any Left group's involvement in it.

The organisations alleged that the incident was being used by certain groups to target Left forces on the campus and exploit Bengali national sentiment for political purposes. "Bengali identity is not the property of the Brahmanical Hindutva forces, and Vivekananda's legacy and progressive ideas cannot be monopolised to legitimise their political agendas," the statement said. The student bodies said Vivekananda's message of unity in diversity remained relevant at a time when, according to them, "the RSS-BJP was pursuing divisive politics".

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They demanded an immediate investigation, including an examination of CCTV footage, and strict action against those found responsible. The organisations also referred to alleged previous incidents involving the defacement of portraits of prominent Bengali personalities by the RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), as well as alleged attacks on students at Jadavpur University and the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI).

The statement was signed by Ushasree Mitra, secretary of the SFI's Presidency University unit; Ankan Maity, secretary of the AISA unit; Debanjan Das, secretary of the AIDSO unit; and Antik Sankar Majumder, convener of the RSF unit. Meanwhile, the ABVP lodged a complaint with the Jorasanko police station on October 14, alleging that unidentified individuals had defaced a poster of Vivekananda put up by the organisation on the university campus a day earlier. The complaint alleged that a defamatory word had been written across the poster and that offensive graffiti targeting the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the ABVP had appeared at various places on the campus.