Goa: ABVP students hold St Xavier’s college to ransom, create ruckus

Students affiliated to Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), on Saturday allegedly forced their way into the college premises of St Xavier’s College, Mapusa and created a ruckus in the campus by disrupting ongoing classes and intimidating the college students to join their protest.

The ABVP students were protesting against the alleged failure of the college to establish the students’ council for the academic year and also demanded an audience with the Principal.

The ABVP students, mostly from other institutes, hurled abuses against the Principal and chanted “Vande Mataram” and “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” slogans.

Around 10 to 15 ABVP students mostly from other institutes along with three students of the St Xavier’s made their way into the college campus at around 10.30 am and barged into the classes of the Science block and urged the students attending the classes to join their protest.

“They pushed and banged the classroom doors all the while shouting slogans. They went to all the labs and the classrooms of the Science block and abused and asked the teachers to close shop for the day and asked the students to join them. They were not ready to move out until they met the Principal,” a faculty member told The Goan, on condition of anonymity.

The teaching faculty and the staff who were taken by surprise felt threatened due to the ruckus created by the “outsider” students.

“This is nothing but political hooliganism. I have been a teacher for 40 years in this institute but have never seen such incidents. This is complete lawlessness,” a teacher told this correspondent.

Sahil Mahajan, a student of St Xavier’s College and who was part of the ABVP-sponsored ruckus in the campus, said that he along with other college students have been pleading with the Principal and the administrator for the last two months to install the Student’s Council and resolve issues in the college.

“I have been duly elected as the General Secretary of the college,” Mahajan claimed and further alleged that the Principal and the administrator tried their level best so that he should not be elected.

“Our main demand is induction of the student’s council,” he said.

North Goa Co-Convenor of ABVP, Akash Naik said the college was not inducting the council only because a person of their liking was not elected the General Secretary.

The situation turned a little tense at around noon as both the ABVP students and the college faculty members traded charges against one another even as the police tried to calm down fraying tempers.

Joint Mamlatdar Varsha Parab rushed to the site and held discussion with the students and the college management.

After the discussion, the college management agreed to hold a meeting with five students of the St Xavier’s college in the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate on Tuesday (January 24).

The ABVP students then dispersed from the campus after the authorities conveyed the decision of the college management to them.

The Administrator of St Xavier’s College, Fr Tony Salema in a statement said that the incident that happened in the college campus was “unfortunate” and “unprecedented”.

“A group of students, comprising boys and girls, among whom three were students of the college, entered the campus shouting political slogans and also abusing the Principal, management and the staff. Being an educational institution, we categorically state that St Xavier’s College condemns such unruly behaviour and request all our students to dissociate themselves from such activities,” Fr Salema said, in a written statement.

Published on: Sunday, January 22, 2023, 11:57 PM IST