Kolkata: ‘Gangajal’ made its debut in Bengal’s campus politics as students of a law college in the heart of Kolkata “purified” the vice-principal’s office after celebrating her “eviction” with incense sticks on Friday.Surendranath Law College vice-principal (also the teacher-in charge) Mohammadi Tarannum left the Sealdah campus on Friday afternoon under police protection, alleging she had been forced to sign “a resignation letter” after being detained inside her office without power and water for “two days”.Students at the college, which was set up in 1885 and is one of India’s oldest law colleges, had been demonstrating on the campus since Thursday, demanding that they be allowed to write their upcoming semester exams despite failing to meet the mandatory 65% attendance requirement. Following Tarannum’s “forced” resignation, the protests turned into loud celebrations.Students waved ABVP flags across the campus while the vice-principal was being escorted out by police. Inside her office, students sprinkled ‘Gangajal’ to symbolically purify the room and performed an aarti with incense sticks.“I was forced to resign. I was targeted and harassed by a section of students who did not attend classes. They detained me in the office for two days without electricity and water and locked the two exits,” Tarannum told reporters while leaving.“I appeal to the education minister and the CM to order a probe and identify the culprits… I want a proper investigation as the CM himself wanted a transparent and systematic process. I have all the documents regarding students’ attendance ready,” she said.Claiming she was labelled a ‘Leftist’ before being targeted, Tarannum said, “I do have a Left background but I gave up my CPM membership in 2016. Currently, I have no political affiliation”Defending the agitation, Veenit Sharma, a second-semester student and ABVP supporter, countered, “She targeted ABVP supporters before exams, citing low attendance. She often used her political clout to threaten students.”BJP MLA Koustav Bagchi, also the governing body president at Surendranath Law College, called the “purification drive” an “outburst of students’ emotion”. He alleged Tarannum functioned as a “rubber stamp” for Debashish Banerjee, a local TMC functionary and former governing body member, and his son Shibashish.“Absolute anarchy prevailed on the campus during the previous govt. Students were threatened and girls feared coming to college. There was no proper system to record attendance. Classes were hardly held, yet she barred students with low attendance,” Bagchi said. He added he asked CU VC Ashutosh Ghosh to extend the date for submitting exam forms.Police had slapped criminal charges on Debashish after a clean-up drive at the college on June 3 led to the recovery of suitcases containing termite-eaten cash, an illegal gun and luxury amenities from locked rooms.
