Days after suggestions that he should be removed from the post of chancellor of state-run universities in West Bengal, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Sunday hit out at the state government.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu had tweeted on Friday that there was a need to “introspect” whether the state needed to continue the colonial legacy of being ex-officio chancellors of all state-run universities and instead appoint eminent scholars. should be done. Later, he suggested to the journalists that the Chief Minister should be made interim chancellor.
“I was surprised that the education minister, who should have spoken to me, said the chief minister would be made chancellor,” Mr Dhankhar said after landing at the airport here on a week-long visit to North Bengal.
Describing Mr. Basu’s stand as unfair, he said in a sarcastic tone, “Besides making the Chief Minister the Chancellor, you also make the Governor.”
Mr Dhankhar had earlier called a meeting of Vice Chancellors and Vice Chancellors of private universities of the state on December 18. Attempts to hold the meeting on 23 December also failed, and the governor vented his anger on social media.
An earlier attempt by him to call a meeting of vice-chancellors or working heads of state-run universities also went off without much trouble.
Governor Dhankhar has been at odds with the state government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee over several issues and over his attempts to exercise his powers as Chancellor.
‘Permission denied’
Mr Dhankhar also reiterated that he had not given his assent to the Howrah Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, adding that a submission to this effect by the state’s Advocate General before the Calcutta High Court may be incorrect.
“There is no paper, letter, discussion, idea before the Governor regarding the bifurcation of Howrah Municipal Corporation and creation of Bally Municipality,” he said. The governor had earlier said that he had sent back the bill to exclude areas of the erstwhile Bally municipality from Howrah Municipal Corporation on November 24, which was yet to be answered.
“It is wrong for the Advocate General to present before the High Court that the Governor has approved the Bill,” he said. State Advocate General SN Mukherjee told the Cloutta High Court on Friday that the Governor has given his assent to the bill, paving the way for separate elections for the two bodies.
Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy, however, said that the state has sent replies to the questions raised by the governor regarding the bill which was earlier passed in the West Bengal Assembly.
BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh, however, alleged that the Mamata Banerjee government was trying to convert the governor into a rubber stamp.