AGARTALA, NOV 22: The battle for student supremacy between Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-affiliated Students’ Federation of India (SFI) spilt onto the walls of Bir Bikram Memorial College (BBMC) this week, with ABVP leaders conducting a religious cleansing ceremony on Saturday after alleging that rival SFI workers had defaced campus property during a nocturnal operation.
President of the ABVP’s Bir Bikram Memorial College unit, Tanmay Ghosh, has accused SFI workers of entering the campus premises like thieves on Friday, November 21, night and writing recruitment slogans on walls outside the campus.
Speaking on Saturday, November 22, Ghosh alleged, “Yesterday, some miscreants from SFI came like thieves at night and wrote ‘Join SFI’ on walls outside the campus. Today, we came to know through social media that SFI has accepted our challenge.”
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However, Ghosh clarified that the original challenge issued by ABVP was meant for activities inside the campus, not outside. “First of all, our challenge was for inside the campus, not outside. Secondly, we will not allow them to do any such work inside our campus. That is why today we brought a priest to perform purification at our campus,” he stated.
According to Ghosh, ABVP brought a priest to the campus on Saturday to perform a “Suddhi Karan” (purification) ritual in response to the alleged incident. Moreover, he issued a stern warning to the rival group, stating, “We have openly warned these red miscreants that if they have the guts, they should come in the morning, not at night. We will be ready to confront them in the morning.”
The controversy reportedly began on November 13 when former SFI Tripura State Secretary and current DYFI State Secretary Nabarun Deb wrote on his official Facebook page, suggesting that “Join SFI, Be A Complete Student” should be written on the walls of all schools across the state.
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Meanwhile, on November 19, Ghosh along with other ABVP workers, released a video on Facebook challenging SFI workers. In the video, Ghosh stated, “A few days ago, SFI goon Nabarun Deb posted on his official Facebook page, instructing SFI workers to write ‘Join SFI’ on all schools.”
He further added, “You people have been carrying out such activities for so long and still are not satisfied. We, the ABVP’s BBMC College unit, want to tell you this: if you have the guts, show us by writing ‘Join SFI’ on our campus.”
It is learned that answering the challenge, SFI workers allegedly arrived at the college premises on the night of November 21 and wrote slogans on the walls near the campus. This reportedly led to the purification ceremony conducted by ABVP on November 22, further escalating tensions between the two student organizations.
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The incident highlights the ongoing rivalry between the two student bodies, with both groups using social media platforms and physical demonstrations to assert their presence in educational institutions across Tripura.