Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah on Saturday criticised the BJP while extending support to students of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute staging an indefinite sit-in over campus violence, accusing the party of taking “revenge” on those who do not subscribe to its beliefs and policies.
SRFTI students have been staging an indefinite sit-in outside Vice-Chancellor Santosh Ajmera’s office since October 12, seeking his resignation over incidents of campus violence.
In a video shared on Facebook, Shah alleged that SRFTI students were the latest targets of the BJP’s vendetta following its “manipulative victory” in the West Bengal Assembly elections earlier this year.
“Namaskar, adab, I’m Naseeruddin Shah. The BJP, the bloody jhooti party, after its manipulative victory in the Bengal elections now seems all out for revenge on anyone who does not subscribe to their beliefs and their policies,” Shah said.
“The latest victims of this vendetta are the students, the aspiring filmmakers of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute. In return for their demand for accountability from the administration, they have been served show cause notices, put under surveillance, threatened and now have even been asked to vacate the hostels,” he added.
Taking his criticism of the BJP further, Shah said the party was not “content with backing and encouraging shameless propaganda in its favour”.
“It is now hoping either to brainwash or frighten the future filmmakers of this country and I can promise you that is not going to happen. These are the young people who in the future will tell us the truth about themselves and about our country and about the state we are in,” the 76-year-old actor noted.
“I urge all right-minded citizens to support the demands of the Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute students,” Shah signed off.
A clash broke out between students and members of the Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (ABGP), an RSS-affiliated consumer awareness group, during a programme on September 27.
Another scuffle broke out on the campus on October 4 during a protest organised by members of the Bangiya Hindu Jagaran Mancha. Some protesters reportedly tried to force open the institute’s gate after police stopped them.
In a notice issued on October 16, SRFTI suspended regular academic activities in its film, electronic and digital media departments until November 13 and directed students to vacate the campus within 24 hours.
The institute was on its Puja vacation until October 21.
However, the protesting students have remained firm in their decision to continue the sit-in, citing concerns over campus security and demanding accountability for the incidents of violence.