Reports of BJP MLA SR Vishwanath and other BJP corporators heckling the students and faculty members of Shrishti School of Art and Design emerged after the BJP corporators accused the students of painting graffiti on the walls opposite the college showing Prime Minister Modi say ‘Sab Changa Si’ The News Minute reported.
Some BJP guys went to Srishti design college and made a big scene there.
Okay but why do BJP people have a problem with sab changa si graffiti? This is a quote by the supreme leader! pic.twitter.com/NcDRccpjAQ— Alithea Stephanie Mounika//ಅಲಿತ್ಯ ಮೌನಿಕಾ (@alitheasm) January 14, 2020
It was alleged that the BJP workers led by the MLA soon covered the graffiti using saffron paint. Not only this, they also allegedly threatened the administration to reveal the names of the students who may have drawn the graffiti depicting PM Modi. Apart from that, they planned to sue the institute against girls wearing shorts, smoking or ‘roaming’ outside till late in the night with residents from the nearby Shirke Apartments joining in the ‘moral policing’.
The BJP workers claimed that they took action after one man, Raghavendra, a resident of the Yelahanka New Town, filed a complaint on the BBMP Sahaya App raising the issue of parked vehicles that were causing trouble to pedestrians and also about the graffiti on the wall, TNM said in its report.
Clearing his stance, Raghavendra told TNM, “The BJP people were raising issues of graffiti. Most of the residents had a problem with the way the students dressed. They sit outside on the footpaths at night and drink. Although, my issue is with the parking and smoking, the issue of clothes should not have been raised as it’s a personal matter.”
The BJP workers sought to have a word with the management about the graffiti that had hurt their sentiments and demanded the security guards that they let them in the campus. A student said, “The MLA arrived and with him, was a group of people. They were his people, they talked about the graffiti, which was painted on a wall opposite the (college) building. It’s not Srishti property. But they don’t know who did it or how it got there. They raised that issue and then started threatening the guards for allowing the graffiti to be put up. The guard told them that he is not involved in any of this.”
Sensing that the situation could take a dangerous turn, the faculty and the management arrived to hold talks with the MLA and his workers. The faculty clarified its take on the matter saying that just because the college taught fine arts, didn’t mean that the students were culprits.
However, holding his ground, MLA SR Vishwanath told the publication that in the interim, he had warned the college that strict action would be taken against it if the graffiti were to appear again. He said, “There were many complaints of graffiti over the last one year against the college and no action was being taken. When we saw anti-Modi paintings, we warned them. We told them that they can take police permission and protest instead of vandalising public property.”
He also said that the BJP had not raised the issue of the way the students dressed and that it was the residents who had raised this concern.
Post this, students said that they were summoned by the management and asked to lay low for a few days till the matter calmed down. Seeing that everyone, from the students to the management, was shaken by the threats received, the institute has now declared holidays on January 16 and 17 keeping the safety of the students as top priority and is working towards creating a secure atmosphere for them in the coming days.
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