Jadavpur students cite Vajpayee remark in Palestine graffiti row

Kolkata, September 3: A day after Jadavpur University authorities whitewashed graffiti from campus walls, students on Thursday put up a poster quoting former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's 1977 statement on Palestine. The poster, placed in the green zone, reads: "Israel must return the lands of Arabs it has occupied. The lawful rights of the Palestinians must be established."

Vajpayee made the remarks in a Delhi public meeting shortly after the Janata Party government came to power, when he was given charge of the External Affairs Ministry. The poster credits "nationalist students of Jadavpur University" and includes a QR code linking to the full speech.

The move comes amid an escalating row over wall writings on the campus. On August 26, Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari directed the administration to act against graffiti he called anti-national, including slogans for a free Palestine and Kashmir and calls to "shoot the fascists." The administration whitewashed walls across the main building, Aurobindo Bhaban, the Arts Hostel, and the Open-Air Theatre, but students repainted them, saying they were reclaiming the walls.

Fresh graffiti on August 31 quoted Karl Marx: "We have no compassion, and we ask no compassion from you. When our turn comes, we shall not make excuses for the terror." Early on September 1, police and Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials arrived around 12:30 a.m. and whitewashed all graffiti again, including a portrait of artist Chittaprosad Bhattacharya, a climate-change painting, quotes from Ho Chi Minh, and Urdu couplets. By Thursday, the writings and posters had reappeared.

Other graffiti on Thursday mocked Italian dictator Benito Mussolini and the RSS, saying "Mussolini ko de di Azadi, RSS ko bhi de denge Azadi," and targeted Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. In response, ABVP supporters put up posters of Rabindranath Tagore, Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Vande Mataram.

Addressing an RSS-affiliated organisation's programme at Ramakrishna Mission in Golpark, the Chief Minister launched a sharp attack on dissenting voices. "Bengal is the land of Netaji and Shyamaprasad. Swami Vivekananda was born in Kolkata. And on this land you will say 'Kashmir maange azaadi'!... You will write 'Free Palestine' on the walls of Jadavpur? Write 'Free PoK'. I will support it," he said.

Meanwhile, Left students held a rally against the invitation of BJP leaders, including Rahul Sinha, Swapan Dasgupta, Tapas Roy, and Jadavpur MLA Sarbori Mukherjee, to a 'Nationalist Conference' organised by the Haripada Bharati Smritiraksha Samiti at the Triguna Sen auditorium. Srijan Bhattacharya, general secretary of the Students' Federation of India, questioned Mukherjee's invitation, alleging she had sent outsiders who vandalised the university and set fire to the main building. He argued the graffiti reflects public opinion and challenged the Chief Minister to hold students' union elections to let students decide.

ABVP supporters held a separate rally inside the campus, carrying the national flag and chanting 'Vande Mataram', accusing Left students of fostering an anti-national mentality and suppressing democratic dissent. The clashes between ABVP and Left students began on August 19 when ABVP supporters allegedly entered the campus, tore posters, and burned flags of the Left students' union.