Jadavpur University students during a victory rally to celebrate the resignation of Abhijit Chakrabarti from the Vice Chancellor's post.
The outgoing Vice Chancellor of Kolkata's Jadavpur University (JU), Abhijit Chakrabarti, has slammed the students and teachers of the University for their "militant", "anarchic", "undemocratic" and "unconstitutional" agitation, even as students held a victory rally to celebrate his resignation.
Chakrabarti said students must "realize that the university campus is not meant for indulgence in addictions and substance abuse in its various forms, including alcohol and cannabis."
Addressing a press conference in Kolkata today, 24 hours after Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that he would resign, Mr Chakraborty said, "I am resigning as VC of JU, not succumbing to the undemocratic agitation by some students, but in the best interest of the University, since I failed to instill discipline in JU."
He also said, "My resignation is a mark of protest against the anarchism perpetrated by the agitating students and unfortunately by teachers of the Jadavpur University Teachers' Association (JUTA)."
The Vice Chancellor also denied any political party affiliation, or that he had resigned owing to political pressure. "There was nothing political about the Chief Minister coming to the campus and announcing my resignation," he said, adding, "If I had not told her I was resigning, she couldn't have made the announcement."
About calling the police into the campus on the night of September 16, 2014, Chakraborti said, "The University Executive Council was involved in the decision and the government was informed of the decision."
He also said, "I have rights, the police rights, no one can hold me hostage. There was no law violated when I called for police help. I asked to be rescued. There were women held hostage. We also have human rights."
At almost the same time that the VC was speaking, JU students held a huge victory rally from the campus to Gariahat, a distance of about 4 km.
While passing by the Jadavpur Police Station, some students placed a bunch of roses and some chocolates at the gate of the police station. It was the manhandling of students by police personnel from this station that led to the turmoil on campus from September.
A mega victory rally will be held on by the students on January 17. All sections of society have been invited to participate.