West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh on Saturday kicked up a controversy by calling girl students of Jadavpur University "below standard and shameless who are always in search of opportunity to be in the company of male students".
Ghosh made the remarks while reacting to allegations of molestation by the girl students of the institution last week during a scuffle between ABVP and Left-leaning students over screening of a film.
"Those allegations of molestation are baseless. The girl students of Jadavpur University who are levelling those allegations are themselves below standard and shameless who are always in search of an opportunity to be in company of male students," he said.
On the violence at JU, Ghosh said everyone has the democratic right to hold rallies outside the campus and it was within the rights of the BJP student's wing ABVP to do so.
"Can that right belong to followers of a single party?" he asked.
About the involvement of AVBP supporters in the alleged molestation, the BJP leader said they (ABVP members) were just four of them and they were packing film projection equipment when the current (Left) students wing in power thrashed them.
"Now they are alleging the molestation, is it worth believing? Such baseless allegations are extremely shameless," he added.
The students of Jadavpur University condemned the statement of Ghosh.
"We condemn such statements and feel that politicians should refrain from making them. But we don't expect anything better from a communal party like BJP," said a JU student.
Ghosh also apprehended that violence would aggravate in the state post poll results next week. "We are already seeing rampant post poll violence in the state, mainly in south Bengal. Police and administration are reluctant to take action. The change they had shown from third phase of polling seems to be getting shadowed."
He hoped that police and administration will do their job in controlling any trouble post results but if they failed BJP would be "provoked" to seek the help of the governor and the Centre.
Condemning the statement by Ghosh, CPI(M) state secretary Surya Kanta Mishra said it shows the "Taliban" mindset of BJP and RSS.
"It's in complete consonance wd d Manubadi-Taliban mindset of d RSS-Sangh," he tweeted.