Bhubaneswar: Tension gripped Utkal University in Odisha capital on Sunday after a student leader and his associates created a ruckus while JNU Professor Surajit Mazumdar was delivering a lecture during a seminar on ‘Indian Constitution and Education Policy’ organised by Citizens’ Forum at PG Council Hall.
Citizens’ Forum convenor Pradeepta Nayak told the media that the students raised objections to Mazumdar’s speech and started abusing him. Despite him saying that the speaker would answer their questions later, two students walked up to the stage and demanded that the meeting be cancelled.
A heated exchange of words ensued between the organisers of the seminar and the opposers thereafter. “They brutally attacked and manhandled me and professor Surendra Jena and tore our shirts while we were trying to pacify them,” he said.
In a viral video, they can clearly be seen coming to blows. Later, both groups filed FIRs against each other at Saheed Nagar police station.
“They objected to Mazumdar’s statement that the country was going in a ‘different direction’ and thrashed us when we tried to stop them. We were later rescued by police,” Jena said.
A student, on the other hand, said that the clash ensued when they objected to Mazumdar, saying that the Indian Constitution was in danger and they too sustained injuries in the incident. They also questioned the permission given for holding a seminar in the varsity on a Sunday. “We spoke to the PG Council Chairman, who denied giving permission for the seminar,” he said.
Notably, Majumdar was the secretary of JNUTA which along with JNUSU had organised a public meeting in response to January 5, 2020, attack on JNU students and teachers by masked goons armed with sticks and rods. Actor Deepika Padukone attended the meeting to express solidarity with the students but did not speak or address the gathering.
