Mamata Banerjee on Thursday asked Trinamul Congress workers in Birbhum to start a demonstration in Santiniketan with photographs of Rabindranath Tagore if the Visva-Bharati authorities did not remove plaques on the Unesco heritage tag and replace them with new ones inscribed with the bard’s name before 10am on Friday.

“If they (varsity authorities) do not remove the plaques and replace them with ones inscribed with Rabindranath Tagore’s name, our people there (in Santiniketan) will start a demonstration from 10 am tomorrow,” the chief minister told a news conference at her Kalighat residence here.

“Santiniketan’s name was inscribed in the Unesco’s world heritage site only because of the contributions of Rabindranath Tagore. He is the creator (founder) of Santiniketan and Visva-Bharati. But (they) removed his (Tagore’s) name.... We were silent because of Durga Puja,” Mamata added in her first reaction to the row over the two plaques on the campus of the central university.

On September 17, Santiniketan in Birbhum district was added to Unesco’s World Heritage List.

Visva-Bharati subsequently erected at least two plaques on the campus mentioning the Unesco heritage tag for the town. The marble plaques have the names of chancellor Narendra Modi and vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty, but Tagore doesn’t find mention on the tablets.

After Mamata’s instruction, local Trinamul sources said they had already chalked out a plan to protest near Kabiguru market of Santiniketan from Friday morning.

“After the chief minister’s announcement, we have communicated with leaders, ministers and others, who are against such acts, and urged them to take part in tomorrow’s protest,” said Minakshi Bhattacharya, a Trinamul Chhatra Parishad leader in Visva-Bharati.

A Trinamul leader said there would be a demonstration without a political banner.

Mahua Banerjee, the acting public relations officer of the university, said: “I will not make any comment in respect of what she (Mamata) has said.... We had said earlier that those plaques were temporary and would be replaced with new ones shortly.”

A senior varsity official said the administration had been waiting for the permanent plaques to reach Santiniketan from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI).

“The varsity will resume its activities on November 1 once the Puja vacation is over. The plaques will be replaced as soon as possible once the ASI sends us proper plaques,” said an official.

On the other hand, the Santiniketan Trust, which was set up by Rabindranath Tagore’s father Maharshi Debendranath in 1888, and Santiniketan Ashramik Sangha, a body of alumni, former employees and friends of Santiniketan, set up by the Nobel laureate, wrote to Prime Minister Modi informing him that the unilateral decision to put up such plaques had been taken by VC Chakrabarty.

A larger part of the heritage site is under the control of Santiniketan Trust, not Visva-Bharati, they claimed.

Barb at Union minister

Mamata came down heavily on Union minister of state for rural development Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti — albeit without naming her — for not meeting Trinamul leaders when they had gone to meet her in Delhi, along with some MGNREGA job card holders who were yet to get their wages.

“They (the Centre) did not release funds under the 100-day jobs scheme.... When they (Trinamul leaders) staged a demonstration in Delhi along with the deprived job card holders, the minister of state did not give even five minutes to them,” the chief minister told the news conference.

“Was she so busy?” asked Mamata, making her first public comment on Trinamul’s movement in Delhi to press the Centre to release funds due to Bengal.