Go to Jharkhand, don't get photos taken: Dilip Ghosh to Rahul

West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh slammed Rahul Gandhi's protest in Delhi, telling him to visit agitating students in Jharkhand. He also backed Amit Shah on the BSF land issue and criticized the 'agitation culture' at Jadavpur University.

Ghosh slams Rahul Gandhi's protest

West Bengal Minister Dilip Ghosh on Saturday took a swipe at Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his protest at the Parliament Street Police Station in Delhi, saying he should visit Jharkhand, where students are agitating. "Rahul Gandhi should visit Jharkhand, but he is not going there. Students there are agitating for their interests. His party is in power there. The government's decision was flawed -- the court had also observed this. Now, with nothing left to do, Rahul Gandhi is merely getting photographs taken," Ghosh told reporters.

The remarks come a day after Gandhi staged a protest at Parliament Street Police Station, a nearly eight-hour sit-in demanding registration of an FIR over the alleged use of pellet guns against student protester Sahil Lochav during the July 20 Jantar Mantar protest.

On BSF land issue

On Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remarks on BSF land, Ghosh backed Shah and alleged that former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had consistently denied land for border fencing. "When Rajnath Singh was the Home Minister, he personally met Mamata Banerjee to request land for fencing, but she refused and insisted that the land be purchased. Later, when Amit Shah became the Home Minister and the BSF's operational jurisdiction was extended to 50 kilometres, the state government (Mamata Banerjee's government) vehemently opposed it. Subsequently, the process of providing land for fencing began," he said.

Ghosh added that the stalled work has now resumed after land was handed over. "Regarding the stalled work, our government handed over the land within 45 days, and the work has commenced. Work on the 50-kilometer stretch is currently underway; once the land is acquired, the project will be completed," he said.

Earlier on Friday, Union Home Minister Shah, while addressing the gathering in Siliguri, had said the Centre had repeatedly requested the previous state government for land for the BSF. "We had tirelessly appealed to Mamata Banerjee to allot land to BSF, but she did not do so until she left. I had even visited her office once and explained to her that this land was meant for BSF and not BJP," he said.

'Academics have taken a back seat at Jadavpur'

Furthermore, West Bengal Minister Ghosh alleged that protests and agitation in Jadavpur University have taken priority over academics. "The culture at Jadavpur is such that there is a lot of agitation. Academics have taken a back seat," Ghosh said.

He alleged that slogans such as "Tukde-Tukde" are frequently heard at the university and claimed that some students who participate in revolutionary activities later move abroad and adopt a comfortable lifestyle.

"That is the Jadavpur culture; look at how many leaders emerged, but where was the revolution? Jadavpur has become an island. That is the transformation the university has undergone," he said.

His remarks come after a physical altercation reportedly broke out between two groups of students at Jadavpur University on August 20, during a General Body Meeting, leaving two ABVP members injured. Jadavpur Police Station on Friday registered a case following a complaint by the Vice-Chancellor of Jadavpur University, alleging that a group of unknown persons and outsiders forcibly entered the campus, indulged in arson and vandalism, and intimidated students and security personnel. (ANI)

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