Foil gameplan of ‘fascist forces’ to occupy space in varsities: Aishe Ghosh

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By: PTI | Kolkata | Updated: February 14, 2020 8:08:31 pm

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“Don’t yield to them (ABVP) an inch. If they stare at you, stare back harder. Face their challenge head on to save this country,” Ghosh said. (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh)

JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh on Friday described RSS-BJP as the “biggest threats to the country” and urged students to foil the gameplan of “fascist forces” to occupy space in the universities.

The very concept of free discourse in a liberal environment in the higher educational institutions is being challenged by BJP, Ghosh told an SFI rally at Jadavpur University (JU) here in support of its candidates contesting the coming JU union elections and to protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act.

The fiesty student leader said the saffron forces and the ABVP had attempted to make inroads into JNU several times since 2017 but had retreated in the face of resistance by its students.

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Ghosh at a SFI rally at Jadavpur University (JU) here in support of its candidates contesting the coming JU union elections and to protest against the contentious Citizenship Amendment Act. (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh)

“Don’t yield to them (ABVP) an inch. If they stare at you, stare back harder. Face their challenge head on to save this country,” Ghosh, whose bandaged head and bruised face had made her one of the most recognisable faces of protest against the attack at JNU, told the gathering of students at JU.

Singling out RSS-BJP as the “biggest threats of the country” in the present times, Ghosh, who has been attending a series of anti-CAA protests in the city since February 13, said none should take any step that may be of help to them.

The ABVP is for the first time contesting eight central panel posts – four in arts and four in engineering faculties – for the February 19 students’ union polls in the JU.

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Ghosh said the very concept of free discourse in a liberal environment in the higher educational institutions is being challenged by BJP. (Express Photo: Shashi Ghosh)

To questions on denial of police permission to an anti-CAA rally to be attended by her on February 12 at Durgapur and not being allowed to enter the Calcutta University campus on College Street here on February 13, she said “The objective of both the programmes was to fight the divisive agenda of BJP and RSS. Stopping such programmes will only help Hindutva forces.”

Ghosh was denied police permission in Durgapur on Wednesday as a procession by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was scheduled in the same route there. The JNUSU president had addressed a meeting outside the Calcutta University premises the next day after its authority denied permission for holding a seminar inside the campus where she was scheduled to speak.

On Friday, Ghosh also led a march against CAA and NRC from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology at Shibpur till Howrah Maidan.

Ghosh, who was showered with flower petals at Howrah, said that she will not stop her fight until the contentious CAA, NRC and NPR are withdrawn.

The students leader will also address a meeting at Presidency University during the day and is slated to visit the sit-in venue of Muslim women at Park Circus Maidan, SFI sources said.

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