Trinamool Congress today decided to call off the visit by its delegation to FTII in Pune to express solidarity with agitating students due to "party programs".
"Trinamool team postpones trip to meet #FTII Pune students. Hope to go later," tweeted TMC national spokesperson Derek O' Brien, who was included in the three-member delegation.
When contacted a senior TMC leader told PTI, on condition of anonymity, "Probably we will go later. But right now we have a rally of our students wing on August 28. So Abhishek Banerjee will be busy with it. So it's not possible for us to leave the state before 28,".
TMC had on Saturday announced that the party would send a delegation of three MPs to Pune today to express its solidarity with the agitating students of FTII. Apart from O'Brien, two other TMC MPs - Abhisek Banerjee, nephew of Mamata Banerjee and President of All India Trinamool Youth Congress and actress Satabdi Roy were expected to visit the city.
Earlier, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had expressed solidarity with the FTII students.
Meanwhile, state BJP president Rahul Sinha welcomed TMC's move to cancel the visit and said it had no right to visit FTII as its cadres were creating havoc in the educational institutions in West Bengal on an daily basis.
"It is good that they have called off the visit. It doesn't go down well that a party, whose cadres regularly beat up teachers and professors are going to FTII to express their solidarity," Sinha told reporters.
Students at the premier film institute have been boycotting their classes following the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan - best known for playing the character of Yudhisthir in TV serial 'Mahabharata' - as its chairman.
