KOLKATA: Student Federation of India (SFI)’s Jadavpur University unit received a major setback as 31 members from the arts department submitted their resignation to the unit president and district secretary of the students’ wing.
The six-page mass resignation letter mentioned inaction against molestation and sexual harassment, inherent patriarchy within the leadership, discrimination on the basis of gender, caste and taunting for smoking cigarettes and wearing short dresses as some of the major reasons for quitting.
Students’ election in Jadavpur University will be held on February 19. The Arts Faculty Students’ Union (AFSU) is presently controlled by SFI.
Somashree Chowdhury, chairperson of AFSU said quitting was not a unanimous decision. “There is extreme bureaucracy within the organisation. The issues for which SFI used to fight and mobilise masses have lost their goal and target perspective,” she said.
SFI’s Bengal secretary Srijan Bhattacharya admitted that problems exist in the organisation. “An internal probe was initiated after receiving complaints mentioned in the resignation letters. But they did not wait for the conclusion of the investigation,” he said.
‘No probe initiated’
One of the students who quit rubbished SFI Bengal secretary’s claim that an internal probe into their complaints was taken up