Expelled former student Olivia Banerjee at a protest on Monday
A protest letter signed by nearly 1000 ex-students and current students, including Tanika Sarkar, Jawhar Sircar, Tapati Guha-Thakurta was also sent to VC on Monday demanding expulsion revocation.
The expelled PG student, who also joined, in her letter said, “I completely disavow the findings of the enquiry committee and the resulting disciplinary order. Olivia in her letter pointed out a “fundamental jurisdictional defect,” arguing that the university administration lacks the statutory authority to launch ex-post-facto disciplinary proceedings against an alumnus. This misrepresentation is a deliberate attempt to frame a manufactured narrative to penalise individuals for holding independent intellectual and political viewpoints,” she said. “Our disapproval over the defacement of posters notwithstanding, the more serious matter remains the urgency and force of the disproportionate response meted out by the university administration in response to the incident,” it stated.
KOLKATA: The current and the former students of Presidency University, who were expelled from studentship and post-studentship academic activities allegedly for defacing an ABVP poster featuring Vivekananda’s image, have written to the dean of students challenging the inquiry committee’s findings and expulsion order. The information collected from the CCTV was also not shown during the meeting to me, and I was accused of an act which I had repeatedly stressed that I was not involved in. “My graffiti directly called out ABVP for their casteist politics and violence against women. It was not a portrait of Swami Vivekananda. It was an ABVP political poster. The university authorities did not want to comment on this.
Earlier reporting noted: The girl, who has a CGPA of 9 and earned a gold medal in her UG, said she was accompanying the former student, Olivia Banerjee, who scribbled the slogans on the banner.
We will definitely raise questions against this,” said the youth. Earlier reporting noted: Did not write on ABVP poster: Expelled Presidency University girl who got gold in undergraduation Presidency University Expels Two Girls Earlier reporting noted: Kolkata: A day after a current and a former student at Presidency University were expelled from studentship and post-studentship academic activities allegedly for defacing an ABVP poster, the PG girl said she did not write the abusive words on the banner featuring Vivekananda ’s image. Despite apologising to the university’s inquiry committee for what she conceded was an “irrational act” and appealing for consideration, she felt the expulsion was “disproportionate” because their act neither damaged university property nor threatened anyone’s life.
Son of a senior Presidency official, who is in PG2 history now, also joined in the protest called by APDR, on College Street. “We are agitated and frustrated. We understand that this isn’t solely an administrative decision; we realize where the political pressure is coming from. We have never seen or faced anything like this before. We condemn playing with the careers of our classmates who have been expelled. Historian Goutam Bhadra and the expelled former student Olivia Banerjee also spoke at the event. Olivia recently cleared her PG exams.