Quite disappointing
Will block funds to universities, sit on dharna, Mamata warns Governor C V Ananda Bose
Upping the ante against West Bengal Governor C V Ananda Bose, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday threatened to block funds for universities in the state and sit on a dharna in front of Raj Bhavan if he continued to disregard the state government.
“Now we have an honourable governor sitting here. The one who says he alone will see college, will see university…see everything. Have you ever heard of a vice-chancellor being changed in the middle of the night? Ex-IPS, ex-judge has been brought in overnight. He is doing whatever he thinks is his zamindari. If any college or university obeys what you are doing, I will create a financial blockade. Let us see how the vice-chancellor is given salary. I will see how professors, teachers and employees are given salaries. Here’s tit for tat. No compromise,” Banerjee said during a speech at Kolkata’s Dhana Dhanye Auditorium on the occasion of Teacher’s Day.
“He is doing nothing. We are passing a bill in the Assembly, he is not giving assent. According to the Constitution, he cannot do that…these problems should be taken care of. Otherwise, I will sit in dharna in front of Raj Bhavan,” Banerjee added.
Governor Bose and the West Bengal government have been at loggerheads over the former’s recent decision to appoint interim vice-chancellors (VCs) in seven universities. Bose, who is also the chancellor of state-run universities, is in the process of appointing interim VCs in nine other universities, Raj Bhavan sources had said.
The development had drawn severe criticism from the West Bengal government with Education Minister Bratya Basu slamming the governor for acting in a “dictatorial manner”, terming the move “unconstitutional” and “illegal”. Later, Basu claimed it was an attempt to interfere in the functioning of the state government.
“In any democratic state, this type of constitutional crisis cannot be desirable,” BJP leader Samik Bhattacharya said.
The Congress and CPI (M) also slammed the TMC government.
“It is questionable how far the governor has boundaries to confront the state government. But we should also say that the way the chief minister and her party are attacking the governor, that is also not desirable,” Congress leader Soumya Aich Roy said.
Meanwhile, CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty said, “The TMC government failed in every part of governance. Now, to hide their own failures, they are confronting the governor.”
Atri Mitra – 2023-09-05 16:01