Bengal Minister vs Governor Over Appointment Of Vice-Chancellors

Amid growing differences between the state government and the Raj Bhavan, Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Friday alleged that the Governor is acting arbitrarily in the appointment of interim vice-chancellors (VCs) to state universities.

The minister said the government will be "forced" to take the legal route if Governor CV Ananda Bose continues to unilaterally appoint VCs without the state's consent.

He also expressed dismay over reports that the Governor has taken the responsibility of discharging functions in 14 of the 20 other universities in the state till the appointments are made.

The Raj Bhavan on the other hand maintained that the Governor's decision was necessitated by difficulties faced by students on academic matters in universities not helmed by vice-chancellors at present.

"How can the Governor be the chancellor and the vice-chancellor of a university at the same time? Can two items prepared from the same rice grain be the same? It seems the Governor believes in it," Mr Basu told reporters.

The Governor is the ex-officio chancellor of state universities.

"Don't know under which provisions of the law he is doing these things. CV Ananda Bose is acting without bothering to consult a democratically elected government. We will be forced to take the legal route if such things continue," the minister added.

The Education Minister took exception to the appointment of VCs in 11 of the 31 state universities by the Governor without consulting the state higher education department and the minister.

"Even three-time Chief Minister (Mamata Banerjee) has not been consulted before the appointment was made. It is nothing short of an insult to a people's representative. But we still wish to have a discussion with the Governor on the issue out of courtesy," he said.

The West Bengal Educationist Forum on Thursday urged the state government to be more proactive in respect of the steps by the governor, including the appointment of the VCs.

"I have been told of the appointments of vice-chancellors by the forum. The state will respond as per legal provisions. We are voicing our opposition to what he is doing repeatedly," the minister said to queries.

The Raj Bhavan Thursday informed about the governor's decision to discharge the duty of the VCs himself till new interim ones are appointed.

"It is observed that students of a few state universities in West Bengal where the VC posts are vacant are facing difficulties in obtaining degree certificates and other documents. To provide them relief, Hon'ble Governor of WB in his capacity as the Chancellor has decided to discharge the duties of the VCs in these Universities till new interim VCs are appointed...," the Raj Bhavan said in a statement.

The governor also appointed Raj Kumar Kothari as the officiating vice chancellor of the West Bengal State University.

In June, the Raj Bhavan issued a statement announcing the appointment of vice-chancellors of 11 state universities, including Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, Rabindra Bharati University, and Burdwan University as the term of their full-time VCs expired after the extension. Mr Bose recently said that he will always cooperate with the state government but that support may not extend to "whatever it does".

In an interview with PTI, Mr Bose made it clear that in a democracy while the front face of a state is the chief minister and not the nominated governor, each has to stay within the constitutional provisions of their respective 'Lakshman Rekha' (a boundary that should not be crossed).

In his capacity as chancellor of West Bengal's state-run or state-supported universities, the governor appointed Justice SK Mukherjee, former chief justice of Karnataka, and retired IPS officer M Wahab as interim VC of Rabindra Bharati University and interim VC of Aliah University respectively.

He pointed out that Calcutta High Court has said that on appointments of vice-chancellors, the governor needs to consult the state government, but has upheld that he does not need the state's concurrence in the appointment of VCs. "There are many people from West Bengal in top academic positions in prestigious foreign universities, IIMs, and IITs who are interested in serving the state. We will see how we can make the state a thriving educational hub," Bose said.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on Monday alleged that the governor was violating constitutional norms and she does not support his "unconstitutional activities".

The High Court in a judgment two months ago said that there is no illegality in the orders issued by the West Bengal governor in appointing interim vice-chancellors in state-run universities in his capacity as ex-officio chancellor of these institutions. It held that the chancellor has the power to appoint vice-chancellors as laid down in relevant enactments.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)