SFI takes out rally to Assembly demanding immediate holding of union polls in colleges, varsities in Bengal

Demanding immediate holding of students union elections in colleges and universities in the state, around 300 activists of SFI, the student wing of the CPI(M), took part in a rally from Calcutta University campus on College Street to West Bengal Assembly building on Friday.

Amid strict police presence along the entire 2 km stretch from College Street to the Assembly premises, around 20 Students Federation of India (SFI) activists, led by state unit secretary Srijan Bhattacharya, reached one of the outer gates of the Assembly, scaled the iron fencing and shouted slogans against the Trinamool Congress government.

Police personnel, present at the spot, had a trying time in dispersing them and the commotion continued for around 15 minutes even as the House was in session inside.

A senior police officer said several protestors were detained for demonstrating in the assembly area and taken to Lalbazar.

SFI state committee member Subhajit Sarkar said ''despite attempts by police to halt our march towards the assembly building, the administration did not succeed. This is our moral victory. We could reach out to assembly and make ourselves heard''.

The rest of the rallyists dispersed at Central Avenue-Jawaharlal Nehru Road crossing peacefully, Sarkar said.

Earlier in the day, some of the rallyists were stopped before proceeding towards Bowbazar area as they got down from the local train in Sealdah station by policemen deployed at the spot, SFI leader Anandarupa Dhar claimed.

''They have bodily lifted some of our comrades in prison vans as they alighted from the train in the most undemocratic manner. But we are determined to take out the rally. This is our right,'' she added.

A group of SFI members also assembled at Howrah station but a large police contingent was present to prevent any flare up.

The rally was taken out to ''save the education sector from the fascist forces like BJP at Centre and TMC in the state who are bent on privatisation of education system ignoring the interest of poor students, immediate holding of student union polls in state-run and state-aided higher educational institutions and to stop the rolling out of New Education Policy, 2020 draft of the Narendra Modi government which is aided by the ruling TMC in Bengal,'' Sarkar said.