West Bengal Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Dilip Ghosh on Friday (August 21, 2026) threatened to carry out more ‘surgical strikes’ at Jadavpur University if anti-national slogans are raised.

“The Trinamool had allowed them to perpetuate. Our people had carried out surgical strikes there. The SFI office was demolished. If anti-national movements are seen there again or slogans are raised, there will be surgical strikes again,” said Mr. Ghosh, Minister-in-Charge of Panchayat and Rural Development.

The remarks came a day after supporters of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Left-backed students unions, including the Students Federation of India (SFI), held multiple rallies and got into a face-off at the Jadavour University campus.

Clashes were reported inside the university premises on Wednesday evening (August 19, 2026) when ABVP supporters allegedly forced themselves inside the campus premises.

Mr. Ghosh, who had served as the former State BJP President, also said that “change has happened”, referring to the BJP coming to power in West Bengal. “Everything will happen. Wait for six months,” he said.

Earlier, Jadavpur BJP MLA Sarbari Mukherjee had threatened she will not allow “Naxals, Maoists and anti-national forces to perpetuate in the university”.

Questions have also been raised at the university authorities, who till Friday morning (August 21, 2026), had not registered a formal police complaint on the issue of ABVP volunteers trespassing on campus. An FIR has been registered by a student at Jadavpur Police station. The authorities, however, have said that an inquiry will be conducted on what led to the violence.

The teachers and students of the university have called for gathering inside the university premises on Friday (August 21, 2026).

CPI(M) State secretary Md. Salim on Thursday (August 20, 2026) had tried to associate the violence with the remark made by the Prime Minister calling a section of people “dimagi naxal”. “A war has been declared on the students, teachers and others who are in support of education. Attempts were made to start a fire at Aurobindo Bhawan so that bhoy (fear) could be instilled among the people,” Mr. Salim said.

The Trinamool Congress faction backed by Mamata Banerjee has also criticised the ABVP supporters forcing themselves inside the university campus.

Published - August 21, 2026 12:23 pm IST