The Trinamool Congress on Sunday took out a procession inside the Visva Bharati University campus in Birbhum district on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
Carrying banners with photos of TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee and its district chief Anubrata Mondal, several members of the party entered the varsity premises and marched to the heritage ‘Upasana Griho’.
The development comes days after Mr. Mondal announced that the TMC will now organise functions inside the campus in response two district BJP leaders accompanying Union Minister of State for Education Subhas Sarkar during an official visit.
TMC members and student supporters tied rakhis and sang songs composed by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, who had founded the central university.
Small flags of the ruling party were put up around the place but no political slogans were raised.
TMC spokesman Kunal Ghosh told PTI that since Visva Bharati doesn't belong to any political party, there is “no harm” if members of any organisation visit the campus with the message of brotherhood and amity on the day of Raksha Bandhan.
"The TMC has never meddled in the functioning of Visva Bharati," he added.
BJP state spokesman Samik Bhattacharya, however, said: “If someone wants to flaunt power and show that he is superior in the land of Tagore, it reflects disregard for the visionary and the values espoused by the bard.” An official response from the university is awaited.
