After West Bengal Panchayat Minister Subrata Mukherjee, TMC MP Sugato Bose today supported Geetashri Sarkar who refused to accept her citation from Governor K N Tripathi at the Jadavpur University Convocation.
"One has got the right to protest without insulting or hurting anybody," Bose told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here today, apparently supporting the way Geetashri protested Vice-Chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti's presence at the Convocation by not accepting her certificate from the Governor.
West Bengal Governor K N Tripathi, who is also the Chancellor of JU, however, declined to comment anything on the issue when enquired about his views at another event here today.
Tripathi yesterday has said that Geetashri did not misbehave while refusing to accept her citation from him at the JU Convocation.
Incidentally, yesterday TMC leader and state Consumer Affairs Minister Sadhan Pandey, without naming Chakrabarti, has said, "Everyone should have some self respect. If I realise that I am unwanted, I will leave on my own... Why should I cling to the chair."
On Friday, Mukherjee describing Geetashri's protest as a "non-violent" had said: "Geetashri followed a non-violent way to raise her protest by refusing to accept medal from the Chancellor of the University at the Convocation. Somebody may like it, somebody may not. The stalemate at the University continuing for months now should come to an end."
However, Urban Development and Municipal Affairs minister Firhad Hakim contradicted Mukherjee's views and had came down heavily on Geetashri's act describing it as an insult to the Governor.
A large section of students and teachers wearing black badges had protested during the Convocation on December 24 demanding an impartial probe into the alleged police lathi charge on JU students along with the resignation of the varsity's VC.
