Kolkata: After chief minister Suvendu Adhikari’s social media post on ‘anti-national’ graffiti and drawings at Jadavpur University, state higher education minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay made an appeal on Tuesday to the stakeholders of the institution, including students, professors and researchers, to maintain peace and restore normalcy on campus.“Normalcy must return so that JU can uphold its dignity and work towards being a Centre of Excellence. The university should not be known to the world for the wrong reasons,” said Chattopadhyay.Weighing in on the present and future of JU, Chattopadhyay stated that JU needs to solve its own problems and the higher education dept wants it to maintain its reputation and elevate it even further.“For this, whatever obstacles may come the way, JU itself must overcome them. I condemn whatever has happened regarding provocations, counter-provocations, and the reactions to those counter-provocations. JU’s name should spread across the country and the world for its research and educational excellence,” said Chattopadhyay.Alleging an “anti-national nexus”, state panchayat and rural development minister Dilip Ghosh drew parallel between Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and JU, which he called “ghughur basha” (hotbed of corruption).Ghosh stated that the environment on JNU campus had undergone a transformation and a similar change would also take place at JU. “The final battle is underway,” said Ghosh, claiming that the Left-backed student groups draw inspiration from the JNU.Citing the ‘JNU model’ in context of the present unrest at JU, Ghosh said, “When there’s a change, it is followed by some stir. Gradually, things will become normal. Those staging protests here seem to presume that it is outside India. Making foreign slogans will not be accepted. The situation has changed at JNU and Osmania University and the battle is on to make a similar transformation at JU.”On Samik Bhattacharya’s letter over curbing corruption, Ghosh said, “The party president is doing what he thinks is necessary to keep the party in order. I am not aware of the details. I no longer oversee the organisation; I focus on the govt.”
