Bengal Govt-Raj Bhavan tussle over interim VCs heading for murkier turns

Kolkata: The West Bengal Education Department has taken an in-principle stand of not endorsing any decision taken at any meeting of the working committee or the syndicate of any state university if the same is convened by the interim vice chancellors (VCs) appointed by Governor C.V. Ananda Bose.

The state education department has already started sending instructions to different state universities headed by Governor-appointed interim VCs, asking the latter to refrain from convening meetings of the working committees or syndicates.

The education department had sent a notice last week to Jadavpur University (JU) barring interim VC Buddhadeb Sau from convening any meeting of the working committee.

On Monday, the education department sent a similar notice to the Calcutta University authorities barring interim VC Santa Dutta from conducting the pre-scheduled meeting of the syndicate on Tuesday.

In the notice, it has been said that if the syndicate meeting is conducted, it will be a breach of protocol since only permanent VCs are authorised to conduct such meetings.

The development is being viewed as an extension of the ongoing Raj Bhavan-state secretariat tussle over the issue of interim VCs.

The academic circles in the state are of the opinion that if this tussle continues for an indefinite period, it will have an adverse impact on the normal functioning of the state universities in the near future.

Education Minister Bratya Basu has already given signals that the state government is in no mood to take a backseat in the ongoing tussle as he described the Governor-appointed interim VCs as “outsiders".