Team Herald
MAPUSA: Tension prevailed at St Xavier’s College, Mapusa, after the newly-elected Student Council members headed by their secretary Sahil Mahajan led a protest on campus demanding the immediate induction of the student council.
The protest was also supported by members of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhya Parishad (ABVP). For almost four hours, the students protested outside the principal’s office, and when the college authorities realised the protest was going out-of-control, they called the police to control the crowd, in a bid to avoid a law-and-order situation.
The representatives of ABVP sought a meeting with the college principal, but when they did not receive a positive response, the tension escalated. As a result, a conflict broke out between the college faculty and the ABVP members.
Later, joint Mamlatdar Varsha Parab intervened, and it was decided to have a meeting at the office of the Deputy Collector of Bardez in the presence of the college principal and five members of the Council at noon on Tuesday, January 24. The protest was withdrawn following this assurance.
The protestors said that the new Council’s election was held in December 2022,but the induction ceremony has not been held till now. “We were told that the installation ceremony will be held before the vacation. The dress code was also given but at the last moment, the ceremony was cancelled. We do not know why,” said the protesting students.
Accusing the college management of “working against democracy,” Sahil Mahajan, the Council general secretary said, “It has been two months now but every time we approach the principal, seeking his participation in our events and competitions, or even when we go with students’ problems, the principal does not address us, while the administration does not accept our letters,” said Mahajan.
Mahajan further accused the management of threatening the students to vote against him.
The faculty said that the students barged into other Classes and asked the students to leave their lectures and join the protest. Some sources said that the group initially only had three students who entered the campus shouting political slogans and abused the principal, management and staff.
The administrator of St Xavier’s College said in a statement, “Being an educational institution, we categorically condemn such unruly behavior and request all the students to disassociate themselves from any such unruly activity. It was an unfortunate and unprecedented incident.”
Meanwhile, Aldona MLA Adv Carlos Alvares Ferreira strongly condemned ABVP’s move.
“The youth wing of the BJP had stormed into St Xavier’s College in Mapusa and disrupted Classes and were trying to infiltrate and create some law-and-order disturbances and probably some violence. Such kind of elements who try to disrupt education or the classrooms should not be allowed in any premises. Just because you have an affiliation with a political party does not give you the right to barge into colleges and institutions and disrupt the educational system. We don’t want another JNU in Goa and we don’t want hatred to be sowed between members of the fraternity, of the student community or even our local community,” he added.
“I appeal to everyone to keep these kinds of people far away. Because I know that our Goan brothers and sisters will not do any such things,” he said.
