Kolkata, Oct 26: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday came down heavily on the authorities for not inscribing the name of Rabindranath Tagore on plaques commemorating the award of ‘World Heritage Site’ by UNESCO at Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan and warned of widespread demonstrations.
She said her party workers would begin an agitation if the plaques were not changed by Friday.
“It is only for Tagore that Santiniketan got the UNESCO tag and you have removed his name from the plaques. We were silent because of Durga Puja celebrations. If you do not remove the plaques and put-up new ones with the Nobel Laureate’s name by 10am tomorrow, our people will launch a demonstration holding Kobiguru’s photos to their chests,” Banerjee told reporters at a press conference here.
A huge controversy was triggered after the university authorities put up marble plaques bearing the names of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is also the chancellor of the varsity, and vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, but did not have any mention of Tagore.
On Wednesday, the university had said the plaque was just a temporary structure to demarcate the heritage site.
Visva Bharati spokesperson Mahua Bandyopadhyay had told PTI, “It was a purely temporary structure raised to demarcate the heritage site…” On chief minister Banerjee’s threat to launch an agitation, Bandyopadhyay said, “Visva Bharati will not say anything about the CM’s comments.” A senior university teacher said three such plaques were put up on the premises of the central higher educational institution.
BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar told reporters, “Tagore is omnipresent in Santiniketan and Visva Bharati. Everyone is aware that Santiniketan will be nothing without Tagore. TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee is raking up the controversy for political gains.” CPI(M) state secretary Md Salim said, “While Prime Minister Narendra Modi makes people of the country believe that credit for all the achievements is due to him, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee harbours the same thought as her photo is inscribed in every project of the state and every state-organised event. In the process, the sons of Bengal who made the state proud are being ignored,” he said. (PTI)
