Ahead of West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari’s scheduled visit to Jadavpur University on Friday, posters and banners have appeared across the campus, with the West Bengal University Employees’ Council claiming it aims to “re-establish nationalism” at the institution. The BJP-aligned employees’ organisation has reportedly put up around 20 banners at various locations, featuring an AI-generated image depicting a fictional conversation between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Adhikari. The banners carry a message that “anti-national” activities will not be allowed on campus and that ‘Vande Mataram’ will be sung at the university at all times.
According to the organisation, the campaign is aimed at opposing what it describes as “anti-nationalism” and taking the message of nationalism across the university. Palash Maji, the organisation’s state secretary and an RSS functionary, said, “Wherever sedition takes place, people like us who believe in nationalism will have to take to the streets. Our objective is to re-establish nationalism.” Maji added that Suvendu Adhikari had spoken about promoting nationalism both inside and outside the university and claimed that putting up the banners was the first step towards that objective. “There will be no anti-national activity here,” he said.
This comes ahead of Suvendu Adhikari’s scheduled programme near the 8B Bus Stand outside Jadavpur University on Friday. More than 10,000 people are expected to attend the gathering, where ‘Vande Mataram’ is also scheduled to be sung.
The posters have appeared across the university campus seven days after members of the RSS-affiliated ABVP entered Jadavpur University amid protests over the alleged assault of its unit president, Nikhil Das, by Left-backed student activists. The ABVP entered the campus twice on August 20 with the organisation describing the action as a “surgical strike” against alleged “anti-national” activities.
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari had subsequently claimed that he had received complaints about “anti-national” slogans being written on the university campus. School Education Minister Dipak Barman also raised similar allegations. Adhikari had shared a video on his “X” account that highlighted several such alleged “anti-national” graffities across Jadavpur University campus.
