Kolkata: Members of Paschimbanga Visvavidyalaya Karmachari Sangh (PVKS), JU unit, performed a ‘yajna’ at the portico of the university’s administrative building, Aurobindo Bhavan, demanding removal of acting registrar Selim Box Mandal and acting finance officer Shiladitya Chatterjee and for the awakening of wisdom of JU authorities.PVKS is affiliated to Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS). PVKS, JU unit secretary Biswajit Deb said, “Since the tenure of the acting registrar has passed beyond 6 months and it is a violation of statute, we demanded his removal. But he is still continuing. The ‘yajna’ was performed for the awakening of good sense among the authorities.” Deb said they did not take any permission from the authorities. “As Sanatanis, we will perform yajnas whenever we feel that JU is in danger.” The ‘yajna’ continued for one and a half hours following which PVKS members distributed prasad.JU VC Chiranjib Bhattacharjee said, “This is highly undesirable. I do not support it.” The performance of ‘yajna’ at JU, has drawn sharp reactions from university stakeholders. Bengali department professor and JUTA general secretary Rajyeswar Sinha said, “From 1905 to the present day, I have never heard of a ‘yajna’ being performed during university hours. In an institution where discourses on science, technology, history, and philosophy take place, will this precedent elevate our prestige? Those who want to destroy the academic environment of the university will want to legitimise this act. But we strongly oppose this.”Engineering student Souptik Chanda said, “Doing a ‘yajna’ in the middle of the day in front of the administrative building without any permission clearly entails the mindset that these organisations are trying to propagate in a technical university like JU. But apart from the typical stunts from these groups, what is more appalling is the lack of response from the authorities, letting this happen in broad daylight.”
