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Days after the West Bengal Governor expressed dismay over growing indiscipline among students and opposition parties criticised the 'soft approach' by her government, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said she would not tolerate vandalism and indscipline by students.
'Do not take law into your own hands. Troubles do take place during student body elections. Remain cool. Do not go for a fight or ransacking educational institutions,' she exhorted those attending a rally of the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad, the party's student wing.
'Behave responsibly so that people can differentiate between you and those belonging to the CPI(M) and other parties,' she said.
'Students should not indulge in any act which will hurt the teachers. I know there is provocation from the student wings of the CPI(M) and the Congress,' she said.
Banerjee indicated that her government would lift the ban on campus elections and said that university and college polls in West Bengal would resume after Diwali.
College and university elections in the state are usually held between November and January.
A wave of violence connected to elections in various institutions last season culminated in the Mamata Banerjee government clamping an embargo for six months.
Banerjee said she was against lobbying for securing party position or posts and asked the partymen to behave properly and stay away from promoting business.
Realising that there will be an unprecedented demand for party nominations for the next Lok Sabha election, Mamata said, 'I do not like lobbying. I do not like showing their faces before me. Those who work can easily be discernible.'
'In our party there is an advantage. We never accept any lobbying for the position of MPs, MLAs and Ministers',
At the rally attended by several of her party ministers and MLAs, Mamata warned the Trinamool Congress leaders against corruption and groupism.
Apparently hinting at some of his party leaders' alleged nexus with developer syndicates, Banerjee said 'Do not go for making quick money through promoting. Trinamool Congress is a party for the poor and that is our identity.'
Recently opposition parties criticised the government's alleged soft approach towards incidents of assault of principals by students.
The Governor also expressed 'dismay' over growing indiscipline among students and a section of teachers which, he felt, had affected the delivery of education.
The Governor's remarks came against the backdrop of a spurt in campus violence. In April, TMC supporters had barged into the Presidency University and vandalised the century-old Baker Laboratory set up by renowned scientist Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose.
