CM Suvendu Adhikari leads ‘Gerua Samman Yatra’ near Jadavpur University amid campus tensions
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "CM Suvendu Adhikari leads ‘Gerua Samman Yatra’ near Jadavpur University amid campus tensions")
Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said he would not tolerate any insult to saffron. Photograph: (Screengrab from video on X)
A BJP leader said the march aimed to project saffron as a symbol of India's cultural heritage and national pride. CM Suvendu Adhikari had attended the Vande Mataram event, where he had accused the CPI(M)-led Left Front and TMC of letting nationalism fade from public consciousness.
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari led a three-kilometre procession through south Kolkata on Wednesday, culminating outside Jadavpur University, in what the BJP described as a march to defend the “dignity” of the saffron colour.
Dressed in a saffron kurta and carrying a saffron flag, CM Adhikari headed the ‘Gerua Samman Yatra’, which began at Golpark and moved along the southbound flank of Raja Subodh Chandra Mullick Road before ending at the 8B bus stand, adjacent to the university campus. The route passed through Dhakuria, and the rally concluded at the same spot where a mass rendition of ‘Vande Mataram’ had been held on August 28.
Security was tightened along the route, roads were largely cleared, and loudspeakers played the Gayatri mantra as saffron flags lined the procession.
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The march was joined by a large number of monks and seers, including Naga Sadhus, along with BJP workers chanting “Jai Shri Ram”. One Naga Sadhu, addressing the gathering, questioned why their faith was being targeted, asking why they should be insulted after sacrificing for the country and taking up arms to protect their beliefs.
Addressing the crowd, Adhikari described Jadavpur University as the land of Sri Aurobindo and said he would not tolerate any insult to saffron. He said he had vowed to eliminate slogans such as “Kashmir Mange Azadi” and “red salute” from the campus, and pledged to confront supporters of the farmers’ movement associated with the university. He further announced that he would return to the area, saying those who insult saffron would be “taught a lesson” through recitation of the Gita and the Hanuman Chalisa, and unveiled plans for a three-day Vedic recital programme, invoking Swami Vivekananda's legacy tied to the region.
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The rally follows weeks of escalating tension at Jadavpur University, where Left-leaning student groups and the RSS-affiliated ABVP have clashed repeatedly, sparking a running ‘graffiti war’ as rival slogans are painted over and rewritten on campus walls. The controversy deepened after BJP workers allegedly painted part of the state-run Academy of Fine Arts saffron; days later, the boundary wall of a leading Bengali daily was painted the same colour in response to a headline describing the university clashes as “saffron hooliganism”.
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A BJP leader said the march aimed to project saffron as a symbol of India's cultural heritage and national pride. It came less than a fortnight after Adhikari attended the earlier Vande Mataram event, where he had accused the CPI(M)-led Left Front and Trinamool Congress of letting “nationalism fade from public consciousness”.
With civic polls for the Calcutta and Howrah Corporations expected after Diwali, the high-visibility campaign is widely being read as part of the BJP's pre-election outreach strategy in the state.
