Union Minister Babul Supriyo, who was pushed and manhandled by students when he went to Bengal's Jadavpur University on Thursday for an ABVP event, has assured the mother of one of the students that he will not harm his career, after she reportedly begged him with "folded hands" to pardon her son. Mr Supriyo, 48, had on Friday tweeted the student's photograph and dared Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to take action for "assault without any provocation". He also said that those who manhandled him would be "mentally" rehabilitated and declared "these cowards will not be allowed to malign & tarnish the university's image".
"Dear auntie, don't worry. I will not take any action that will harm the career of your son," the BJP MP from Bengal's Asansol seat said in a tweet today.
The student has been identified as Debanjan Ballav and his mother, Rupali, who lives in the town of Bardhaman, had urged Mr Supriyo, "with folded hands" to pardon her son and not hand him over to the police as that would ruin his career.
"I wish he learns from his mistake. Neither had I lodged any FIR against anybody, nor allowed anyone to do the same. Get well soon," Mr Supriyo wrote in his tweet.
According to news agency PTI, the BJP MP's tweet contained a photograph of a newspaper report that showed a teary-eyed Rupali with her hands folded.
In response to Babul Supriyo's statements, Debanjan Ballav, believed to be a student of Sanskrit College and not Jadavpur University, said he only wanted to convey his "misgivings" about the NRC in Assam but "the minister became agitated".
However, the General Secretary of the Arts Faculty Students' Union (AFSU), Debraj Debnath, has claimed no student by the name of Ballav participated in the protest.
"Mainly the students of Jadavpur University took part in the protest against the entry of BJP leader Babul Supriyo into the campus, who is known to have made inflammatory statements in past," Debnath told PTI.
The AFSU could not explain why a student of Sanskrit College, affiliated to the Calcutta University, was present during an agitation at Jadavpur University.
In videos of the incident Mr Supriyo can be seen being pushed around, with his shirt open, as he struggles to pacify an aggressive crowd. At one point he is almost being carried by the mob. "They pulled me by my hair and pushed me," he said later.
The Asansol MP was rescued by Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar who drove to the spot.
The Trinamool Congress has accused the Governor of making political statements after his called the incident "very serious reflection on the law and order of the state..."
With input from PTI
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