'Bengal governor should apologise for provocative remark'

A rights group Tuesday approached the West Bengal Human Rights Commission seeking a public apology from Governor M.K. Narayanan for saying "students should be beaten up".

Narayanan made the remark Aug 31 while reacting to two incidents of teachers being assaulted by irate students in two colleges in the state.

"The governor's remarks are provocative and he being a former policeman, it may tend the police to beat up students," said Ranjit Sur, secretariat member of the Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR).

"Such irresponsible comments coming from the constitutional head of the state is unwarranted as it may lead to infringement of human rights of students," he said.

The APDR in its complaint said the governor must publicly apologise for his remarks.

It asked the commission to ensure that such "irresponsible" comments are not made by people holding high constitutional offices.

Narayanan, the former national security adviser, however, Tuesday defended his remarks.

"When I was a student, I couldn't imagine students beating a teacher. But unfortunately, it is now happening in universities. I had taken a strong objection to it and made a strong remark. I can't help it, if my remarks create a controversy," said Narayanan.