SFI activists on Saturday staged demonstrations for over an hour in Hooghly’s Konnagar against the decision to organise a Duare Sarkar camp at a local college by halting academic activities.

The principal of Nabagram Hiralal Pal College, Srikanta Samanta, in Hooghly’s Konnagar had on Friday issued a notice informing that all academic and administrative activities would be suspended on Saturday because of a Duare Sarkar camp on its campus.

In the notice, college authorities said newly admitted students could apply for students’ credit cards at the camp.

Resenting the decision of the college authorities, SFI workers pasted posters at various places in Konnagar on Friday night questioning the move to suspend classes because of a Duare Sarkar camp.

“We don’t have any objection to organising a Duare Sarkar camp at the college. But we protest against the decision of stopping academic activities to organise the camp. We want an explanation from both the local administration and the college authorities,” said Arnab Das, president of the SFI’s Hooghly district unit.

The fifth edition of the month-long Duare Sarkar camps has started from November 1. Officials said the earlier editions of Duare Sarkar camps were organised when schools and colleges were either closed due to the pandemic or during the Puja vacation.

“There was no specific order that the college or the school has to be closed to organise Duare Sarkar camps. We are using a part of the premises to organise such camps. However, this time the rush is far less,” said an official in Hooghly.

Samanta said it would have been nearly impossible to hold classes and other academic activities with hundreds of outsiders visiting Duare Sarkar camps.

“It was Saturday and our college gets over after the first half. So, we decided to suspend all classes and other activities. The principal of a college under Calcutta University has the liberty to announce five holidays in a calender year. There is nothing unethical in the decision,” he said.