BJP's West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh said the women protesters intentionally threw themselves at the accused men.
Highlights
- ABVP activists accused of molesting women at Jadavpur University
- Dilip Ghosh says women 'shameless', deserve no sympathy
- Mr Ghosh said women intentinally threw themselves at the accused men
BJP's West Bengal chief Dilip Ghosh today said the women at Jadavpur University, who were allegedly molested by ABVP activists, were "shameless" for participating in protests and deserved no sympathy. He said the women intentionally threw themselves at the accused men.
"Those who fear so much for their modesty, why did they go there? Mr Ghosh told reporters in Kolkata. He further said the women were of "low standards".
Clashes had broken out between Left-leaning students and ABVP activists after campus screening of Vivek Agnihotri's film "Buddha in A Traffic Jam" on May 6. A group of 10 women protestors then filed a First Information Report or FIR accusing four ABVP activists of molestation who were detained by university students.
Later in the night, BJP supporters led by Roopa Ganguly came to Jadavpur University in an attempt to rescue the four men but were not allowed to enter the campus.
Mr Ghosh said the allegations of molestation against activists of ABVP, the student wing of the BJP, were false.
"ABVP is a students' organisation and has all the right to reach out to the students. If they (Left students) believe in freedom of speech, then others also have that right. Why would they question the entry of BJP or ABVP activists in the university," Mr Ghosh said, adding, "I feel very bad that being students of a university, they are bringing such indecent allegations. This is very shameful".
This is not the first time that Mr Ghosh has made such comments against Jadavpur University students. In March, he had threatened to "chop by six inches from top anyone who raised slogans of 'Pakistan Zindabad'". He had also said the university students be "thrashed with shoes".
Mr Ghosh's remarks were strongly condemned by university students and women activists.
"Do we need to learn from the Sangh Parivar about dignity, modesty and civility? Their actions and statements are continuously reflecting their patriarchal tendencies", said Titir Chakroborty, a university student.