KENDRAPARA: Clashes erupted between student wings of BJD and Congress at Kendrapara Autonomous College on Thursday after local MLA Kishore Tarai attended a meeting of the Students’ Union on college premises.
Sources said Students’ Union president Prasanjit Kundu organised a meeting ahead of college election and Kendrapara BJD MLA Kishore Tarai was invited to attend it. But some students affiliated to Congress opposed the presence of Tarai in the meeting and raised slogans against him. This led to a clash between the two groups. Kundu blamed members of National Students Union of India (NSUI), the student wing of Congress, for the incident.
Kundu said the Kendrapara MLA, being the president of the management committee, has every right to visit the college. Some Congress supporters and anti-socials assaulted students in the college when they tried to prevent them from raising slogans against the MLA. A FIR has been filed against NSUI leader Umesh Padhi and others at Town police station, Kundu added.
On the other hand, Padhi, also the president of district unit of NSUI, alleged that the BJD MLA has no right to attend any meeting in the college ahead of Students’ Union election. “Some supporters of the MLA assaulted members of NSUI and a FIR has been filed against them,” he added. IIC of Kendrapara Town police station Bijaya Kumar Bishi said the investigation is on.