Tension at Jadavpur University over live screening of Pran Pratishtha ceremony

Kolkata: Tension was prevailing within the campus of Kolkata’s iconic Jadavpur University (JU) over the live-screening of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony at Ram Temple in Ayodhya on Monday.

The tension started after a group of students of the university affiliated to the Left-wing union started protesting the live screening of the Pran Pratishtha event and displayed red flags and also shouted 'Inquilab Zindabad' slogans.

On the other hand, another group of students in favour of the live screening started shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' slogans. There was also some scuffle among the two groups of students.

The faculty members and teaching staff started to persuade the students to refrain from creating tension within the university campus. In that process one security person was injured on his head and a couple of faculty members started feeling sick.

The students under the banner of 'JU Students', the principal organizer of the live screening, protested while sitting within the 'green-zone' in the campus.

They alleged that while they were preparing to organise peaceful screening of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony, the students affiliated to the Left-wing unions unleashed an unprovoked attack on them and beat up a number of organizers.

A huge police contingent has already reached near the JU campus. However, till the time the report was filed, although the police contingent has taken position outside the university’s main entrance, they are yet to enter the campus.

Apprehension of the tension started mounting at JU since the time a group of students had announced their decision to arrange for the live screening of the Pran Pratishtha ceremony within the university campus.

However, the Left-wing students’ unions have been opposing the same since the beginning on grounds that this screening might hamper the secular ambience within the campus.