Bengaluru: Graffiti depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi and decrying the Citizenship (Amendment) Act and the proposed National Register of Citizens (NRC) has become a flashpoint at Bengaluru’s Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology.
BJP’s Yelahanka MLA S.R. Vishwanath, in whose constituency the campus is located, said he was particularly offended by graffiti painted near the campus that shows PM Modi with a finger on his lips, with a caption saying “sab changa si” (all is well). Modi had made this proclamation at the ‘Howdy, Modi!’ event in Houston, USA, last year.
Vishwanath visited the site Tuesday with his supporters, after reportedly receiving a complaint about defacement of public property, and allegedly threatened students.
They also allegedly sought to find out the name of the person who had painted the graffiti, and covered it with saffron spray paint. On Tuesday, the institute cited “potential risk” to students to suspend classes for four days.
‘They insulted our PM’
Speaking to ThePrint Wednesday, Vishwanath described the PM Modi graffiti as “downright offensive”.
“We know how they have drawn our PM and what they mean by it. We will not accept them insulting our PM, let alone our party. There is another painting of our BJP’s lotus (party symbol), which is shown drooping and falling off a hand,” he added. “What are they trying to tell us? We know what their intentions are.”
He said he would visit the campus again as he had heard “more graffiti has cropped up overnight”. “We will remove it immediately if we find it insulting,” he added.
However, Geetha Narayanan, founder-director of Srishti, said the PM Modi graffiti wasn’t offensive.
“It is just graffiti. They (BJP) are objecting to it by accusing us of being the source of it,” she added. “My take as director of Srishti is that we believe in dialogue and want to make this community a safe place and avoid an unnecessary confrontation of us-versus-them.”
Many students of the institute alleged that the BJP leader had warned them of “consequences” if they did not stop painting “this kind of graffiti”.
“They went around painting the walls with saffron paint. They did not care if the graffiti was to do with the CAA or the NRC or Modi,” said a student over the phone. “They just kept splashing paint over it.”
Another student said the MLA and his supporters “pressured” college authorities to reveal who painted the Modi graffiti.
Vishwanath, however, defended himself and his supporters, saying he had spoken to college authorities, who he claimed “agreed” that students should not be defacing public property. He also denied students’ allegations about threats.
Vishwanath said he had visited the site on a complaint that Srishti students were defacing public property with graffiti and blocking roads with their vehicles, which was causing public nuisance. But upon seeing the graffiti, he added, “we got angry” and demanded that the authorities immediately remove the “offensive paintings”.
“They have been painting all over walls outside their campus. Let them do it inside,” he said. “I will not let anybody trigger a rebellion in my area.”
Asked about the incident, a senior police officer said the issue was resolved amicably.
Lifestyle and dress code
Srishti student Jishnu Bandyopadhyaya alleged that the MLA’s supporters had also approached their administrator with complaints about the students’ lifestyle.
“The MLA and his men… told our administrator that the local residents had complained about Srishti students wearing short clothes and smoking in public spaces,” he said. “The students were being a nuisance, he said, adding that is why he was forced to come and stop it.”
Soon after Tuesday’s incident, in its letter suspending classes till 17 January in the interest of students’ safety, the Srishti administration also asked students to adhere to the “Srishti dress code”.
“During this time, we ask you to be conscious of the following — adhere to the Srishti dress code, avoid flouting laws regarding smoking in public places, avoid being out late at night and gathering in public in large groups,” the email said.
“We understand that these are difficult times and we all walk and talk about the issues before us together,” it added.
Srishti institute is the second Bengaluru college, Jyoti Nivas, to shut down in two weeks amid alleged altercations with BJP workers over the CAA-NRC issue.
Another graffiti row
The Srishti incident came just hours after Bengaluru police took suo motu cognisance of anti-CAA-NRC graffiti painted on the walls of an empty building at Church Street.
A “Free Kashmir” message was seen as well, but all of it was painted over by local civic authorities after BJP workers protested in front of it.
Bengaluru Deputy Commissioner of Police (central) Chetan Singh Rathore said they were looking at “CCTV images to identify the culprits”.