West Bengal CM Suvendu Adhikari sets Vande Mataram mandate to ‘stay in state’

West Bengal chief minister Suvendu Adhikari said on Saturday that one has to sing Vande Mataram to stay in the state, amid tension following repeated clashes between Left-leaning students and RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) activists at Jadavpur University.

Addressing a gathering of beneficiaries of the Annapurna scheme in his Bhabanipur constituency, Adhikari launched a scathing attack on what he described as “anti-national” elements on the Jadavpur University campus and said anyone living in the state would have to sing the national song.

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“But we will establish nationalism both inside and outside Jadavpur. I have seen many people crying about JU on social media. Let me be clear, if you want to live in this state, you will have to sing Vande Mataram,” Adhikari said.

“A section of the tukde-tukde gang, jihadis and anti-Nationals in JU don’t celebrate Independence Day and Republic Day inside the premises. We will establish nationalism inside and outside Jadavpur University,” he said.

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The university has been witnessing tensions amid clashes between the Left-wing student organisations and the ABVP, followed by protests and rallies. The university authorities later lodged a complaint with the police.