I resigned as a mark of protest, says the outgoing Jadavpur University V-C

Jadavpur University Vice-Chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti may have agreed to step down from the post following the intervention of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, but on Tuesday said that he was resigning as a mark of protest and not under any political pressure. [caption id=“attachment_2044257” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Jadavpur University. IBNLive[/caption] “I did not resign due to political pressure. There should not be any political interference in any educational institution” Chakrabarti said at a press conference in Kolkata. “Protesting students are setting a bad example,” he said, adding that some of the teachers were also involved in supporting the students in the protests. “It is every teacher’s duty to guide them, not misguide them.” “I have resigned from my post as a mark of protest,” said the outgoing V-C. “The media portrayed me as a political person,” he said, adding that the media should have behaved more responsibly. An emotional Chakrabarti also said that he had always considered himself as a father to the Jadavpur University students. “Unfortunately, I failed in carrying out my duties as a V-C,” he said. The agitation at the Jadavpur University against the V-C turned ugly after the students had gheraoed the VC, registrar and others on the intervening night of 16 and 17 September demanding a fresh probe panel to investigate the alleged sexual harassment of a girl student on the campus on 28 August. The VC had said he feared for his life and called the police who intervened to break the protest and arrested 35 students. Many of the students alleged that they were brutally beaten up by the police inside the campus at night. The prolonged agitation reached its height when 13 students of the university started a hunger strike on 5 January with a five-point charter of demands including the resignation of the VC whom they held responsible for the police crackdown on them during the gherao on 17 September. “I spoke to the VC and he informed me that an unrest is going on and he doesn’t want the academic atmosphere to get vitiated further. He wants peace and so he is resigning,” Mamata Banerjee had said after an unscheduled meeting with the agitating students at the university campus on Monday. (With inputs from PTI)