No formal complaint was lodged by the college or the ABVP and Bajrang Dal.
Saraswati Puja celebrations at a government college in Tripura were marred by protests led by members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and subsequently joined by the Bajrang Dal, after a viral video on social media depicted a Saraswati idol, crafted by students of the college, without a traditional saree.
ABVP members, citing concerns about the perceived "vulgarity" of the idol not wearing traditional Indian attire, initiated a protest that later attracted Bajrang Dal supporters. Dibakar Acharjee, the general secretary of the ABVP unit in Tripura, spearheaded the protest, expressing strong objections to what he considered a misguided portrayal of Goddess Saraswati.
"As we all know, today is Basant Panchami, and Goddess Saraswati is worshipped all over the country. In the very morning, we all got news that in the Government Art and Craft College, the idol of Goddess Saraswati was sculptured in a very wrong and vulgar way," Mr Acharjee stated.
The protestors compelled the institute, located in the state capital Agartala, to drape the idol with a saree. ABVP, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated student body, demanded strict action against the college authority, urging Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha to intervene.
College authorities explained that the idol adhered to traditional sculpture forms observed in Hindu temples and had no intention to offend religious sentiments. The idol was ultimately replaced by college authorities and veiled with plastic sheets, placed behind the puja pandal.
Police visited the scene, but no formal complaint was lodged by the college or the ABVP and Bajrang Dal.