After the recent violence at Esplanade and the assault on media personnel on Friday, West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari said that it was the result of a conspiracy involving radical fundamentalist elements backed by foreign forces.
He said that genuine NEET aspirants and protesters had no role in the violence.
Addressing reporters after a Kargil Vijay Diwas programme in Bengal’s Nandigram on Sunday, the chief minister said, “The real NEET protesters are not involved in this barbaric incident. They themselves have issued statements on social media condemning the attacks on journalists and have refused to own responsibility for the violence.”
“Left groups later joined the CJP rally, and taking advantage of the situation, some radical Jamaati and fundamentalist elements created the unrest,” he added.
He said seven FIRs had already been registered based on complaints lodged by journalists who were attacked during the rally.
Fourteen identified accused have been arrested, and action would be taken against them under the newly enacted Gunda Act.
Drawing a distinction between the protesters and those involved in the violence, Adhikari said the accused were not students but “hardened anti-social elements” attempting to weaken the country.
“We do not merely describe the media as the fourth pillar of democracy in speeches; we demonstrate it through action. I rushed to SSKM Hospital immediately after the incident. Our assurance encouraged journalists to come forward and lodge FIRs,” he said.
“After examining video footage, 14 notorious criminals have been arrested. None of them are students; they are part of a fundamentalist conspiracy aimed at weakening India,” he said.
The chief minister also referred to incidents during the previous government, claiming journalists had been assaulted during the 2023 panchayat elections, the 2022 municipal polls, and agitations at Bhangar, Sandeshkhali and RG Kar Hospital without any effective police action or arrests.
Explaining what he described as the motive behind the violence, Adhikari claimed that several nationalist administrative measures undertaken by his government over the past 10 weeks had angered anti-social elements.
“Intensified scrutiny of documents and funding sources of Khariji madrasas, implementation of the High Court’s direction cancelling illegally issued OBC certificates, stricter enforcement of the Prevention of Cow Slaughter Act, 1950, and new regulations to curb noise pollution might have angered them,” the chief minister said.
He further alleged that during the protest, the national tricolour was displayed upside down, photographs of the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister were kicked, and anti-national slogans were raised.
“These people came to malign a student movement. They will be dealt with under the Gunda Act,” he said.
Responding to a question on the alleged Trinamool Congress links of one of the accused, identified as Afroz, Adhikari said, “People of the state know that the Trinamool Congress appeases Jamaati elements. They even have problems singing ‘Vande Mataram’ or the National Anthem. Through due legal process, we will make the state completely free of such criminals.”
Earlier in the day, the chief minister paid tribute to the soldiers who laid down their lives during the Kargil War and recalled the leadership of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s approach to tackling examination-related malpractices ahead of the introduction of the Public Examinations Bill, 2026 in Parliament on Monday.
Adhikari said the proposed legislation reflected the Centre’s “zero-tolerance policy against question paper leaks and examination fraud” and would provide for stringent penalties and fast-track trials to ensure greater transparency in public examinations across the country.