FB post by CM’s nephew sparks protests

Abhishek Banerjee, All India Trinamool Congress MP and nephew of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, courted fresh controversy on Monday by questioning whether the student protests in Jadavpur University (JU) were due to banning of drugs and liquor inside the campus.

" Mod, ganja, charash, banda tai ki pratibade gandha (Is this protest due to ban on drugs, liquor and charas?" Mr. Banerjee, who is also president of All India Trinamool Yuva, wrote in a Facebook post.

The post came on a day the student wing of AITC called a protest rally to counter the rally by the JU students on Saturday. The comments by Mr Banerjee invited widespread reactions from different quarters including students.

Chiranjit Ghosh, a student of Jadavpur University, said the remarks were an attempt to spread canards against the students participating in the movement. He said JU students do not support consumption of drugs and alcohol on the campus.

The social media saw a flood of reactions against the comment.

“Deeply saddened by your comments. Our state has already lost its reputation. U r a public figure representing our state. Be wise before u speak,” said Manoj Gupta, on a social networking site.

Academician and a former teacher at Jadavapur University Sukanta Chowdhury, described the remarks as an attempt to politicise the student’s movement. Communist Party of India (Marxist) State Secretary Biman Bose described it as an attempt to curb spontaneous student movement. Hours later Mr Banerjee in another post tried to calm tempers. “There is a constant propaganda by certain sections to pit us against the student community …. We must make our stand clear that we condemn hooliganism inside educational institutes,” he said.