WB governor apologises for Presidency attack, refuses to comment on TMC role

West Bengal governor MK Narayanan visited Presidency University and condemned the attack perpetrated on its students, saying that he apologised for ‘failing’ the students of the college. “What has happened is unprecedented. It should never have happened, it must never happen again. It is a blot,” he said, addressing students in the university auditorium. [caption id=“attachment_697013” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sections of the mob that carried out the attack[/caption] That said however, the governor told students that they should not be cowered by the incident. “Yesterday was an attempt to prevent you from reaching for the stars. Don’t let them stop you. Don’t let anyone stop you,” he said. Narayanan promised students that he would even go beyond his constitutional powers to work with the state government and relevant authorities to ensure that the students were well protected, but refused to get drawn into discussions about the TMC role in the attack. Several students asked for his opinion on the fact that a TMC councillor was photographed at the head of the mob outside the university gates, but all Narayanan would say was that he prefered to wait until police investigations were over. “I am not here to approportion blame on political party A or B. I am here if my presence can provide some solace, you have it from me. As for media reports and versions, remember that the attack on our Chief Minister in Delhi was also blamed on a political party and they are protesting,” he said. He also reminded the students that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also ’expressed her anguish’ at the incident, adding that Presidency University was a ‘dream project’ of the state government. “Please try to have some degree of faith in the institutions of governance. Democracy cannot flourish if you lose faith,” he said. The Presidency University was attacked by a mob on 10 April, allegedly protesting the attack on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee while she was visiting Delhi.