West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu was allegedly attacked by members of the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) and the Naxalite-linked All India Students’ Association (AISA) at Jadavpur University on Saturday. The protestors, demanding immediate student union elections, gheraoed the minister, vandalised his vehicle, and shattered its windscreen.
Basu had visited the campus to attend the annual general meeting of the West Bengal College and University Professors Association (WBCUPA). While leaving, he attempted to engage with the agitating students but was surrounded by nearly 100 protestors, who showed him shoes and smashed the rearview mirror of his vehicle, news agency PTI reported. The minister was later taken to state-run SSKM Hospital after suffering cuts on his left hand from broken glass.
#WATCH | West Bengal | TMC party alleged that SFI members attacked West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu at the Jadavpur University earlier today
(Visual of the vehicle of the West Bengal Education Minister from outside the police station) https://t.co/KrRyT0tHVW pic.twitter.com/vdXkeP19vJ
— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2025
“I have undergone an X-ray test as I felt pain in my chest. However, doctors told me there was no serious injury. There were some external marks on the upper part of my body, but these are not serious,” Basu told reporters after his medical check-up, as quoted by PTI.
Describing the incident, he said, “I was ready to talk to the protesting students. Even the SFI handed over a memorandum to me, but when I was about to board the car again, over 100 protestors turned aggressive and surrounded me. I was ready to speak to five representatives even in the presence of the vice-chancellor, but they did not want constructive dialogue. They wanted chaos and lawlessness. They tried to attack my vehicle.”
Basu alleged that the protestors were not solely from SFI but included other ultra-left groups active on the campus. Despite what he called “grave provocations,” he stated that his security personnel did not retaliate, nor did he seek police intervention. “We don’t believe in violence and the entry of police into campus,” he asserted.
He accused the left-wing students of exposing their “undemocratic and unruly” nature by shouting slogans against members of the teaching community. “Today, those who had protested against saffronisation, those who claimed to fight for democracy and against fascism, have joined hands with fascist forces to demonstrate against me and the teaching community just because we did not succumb to their pressure tactics,” he remarked.
Basu further alleged that WBCUPA members were physically assaulted by the protestors. “Can they explain if such vandalism and attacks on senior faculty members or WBCUPA representatives can be repeated by left-wing activists in BJP-ruled states where ABVP controls the campus? Will they dare commit such an act there?” he questioned.
SFI Leader Says Students ‘Didn’t Resort To Violence’, Alleges Injrury To Students Due To Minister’s Convoy
SFI leader Kaushiki Bhattacharya, however, rejected the allegations, stating that the students only wanted to discuss the demand for student union elections with the minister. “We did not resort to violence. It is the TMC outsiders who, along with some of their sympathisers on campus, attacked our activists and used abusive language against us,” she alleged, as per PTI.
She also claimed that two left student activists sustained serious injuries after being run over by vehicles in Basu’s convoy and were admitted to hospital.
TMC Slams ‘Planned Attack’ On Education Minister, Workers Protest
Condemning the attack, Trinamool Congress (TMC) state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said, “It was a planned attack on a minister by left and ultra-left elements who only want to create chaos. What would have happened if the windshield and rearview mirror had come off and grievously injured the minister, who was sitting on the front seat next to the driver? Our patience and tolerance should not be mistaken as weakness by those behind such attacks.”
Following the incident, TMC leaders and party workers staged a protest in Kolkata against SFI, accusing its members of attacking the education minister, news agency ANI reported.
#WATCH | West Bengal | TMC party workers and leaders staged a protest in Kolkata against SFI (Students’ Federation of India) members. They are alleging that SFI members attacked West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu at the Jadavpur University earlier today
SFI (Students’… pic.twitter.com/DLQc2J4Icz
— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2025
TMC leader Saayoni Ghosh also condemned the incident, stating, “Today the West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu was attacked at Jadavpur University. We are here to condemn this.”
#WATCH | Kolkata, West Bengal | TMC leader Saayoni Ghosh says, “Today the West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu was attacked at the Jadavpur University earlier today. We are here to condemn this…” https://t.co/KrRyT0tHVW pic.twitter.com/nW1hV8aP6I
— ANI (@ANI) March 1, 2025
Earlier in the day, police had to bring Basu inside the campus through an alternative gate, as the main gate was blocked by protestors. After his departure, some students tore festoons and banners put up for the WBCUPA AGM, heckled senior faculty members, and vandalised the TMC teachers’ wing office, setting furniture on fire, as per PTI.
The protestors also blocked the arterial S C Mallick Road near Jadavpur police station and the 8B bus terminus for about an hour before dispersing after intervention by commuters.
