Visva Bharati Issues Show Cause Notice To Professor For Case Against Vice Chancellor

The Visva-Bharati University has issued a second show-cause notice to a professor, who had lodged an FIR against the vice-chancellor (VC), asking him to explain how he could make statements to the media about the case against the VC.

Professor Manas Maity of Physics department had lodged an FIR against Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty at Santiniketan police station on June 12 for allegedly insulting and humiliating him and some other faculty members by making some "unsavoury comments" against them at the meeting.

The central university on Monday asked Maity to explain how he could make statement about filing of the FIR against the VC. The varsity said such comments by the concerned "is scurrilous and prejudicial" against the interest of Visva-Bharati.

A varsity source said Mr Maity was asked to reply within three days.

"A section of teachers affiliated to a left body are working to malign the VC. They are working against the interest of Visva-Bharati and only obsessed to create controversy by using media. Their voices are heard via media but not the majority of staff who are miffed over their conduct and want academic activities to continue. But these vast majority do not come out in open. We will put an end to such practices by the left association," the source said.

Earlier the Visva-Bharati University authorities on June 13 had issued a show-cause notice to Mr Maity accusing him of showing inappropriate behaviour towards the Vice-Chancellor and not following his instructions during a virtual meeting.

The central university authorities claimed in the notice that Prof Manas Maity had "hurled abuses" at the VC after being asked to speak on the issue of disbursement of salaries and allegations of "some teachers being lackeys and trying to derail the agenda by making wild allegations", during the meeting on June 8.

Mr Maity was asked to reply to the charges within three days.

Meanwhile, the Jadavpur University Teachers Association (JUTA) on Monday alleged that the Visva-Bharati authorities are pursuing vendetta politics against Mr Maity for filing an FIR against the VC.

Alleging that the VC has issued a gag order against teachers and other employees, forbidding them from making any statements to the press, JUTA General Secretary Parthapratim Roy said in a statement: "Only those who are willing to sing the Vice-Chancellor''s praises in public will be allowed to do so."

"Others will be silenced through the use of charge-sheets, show-cause notices, and so on," JUTA said, adding "the Vice-Chancellor''s charges against Professor Manas Maity, for allegedly saying uncomplimentary things at the meeting of June 8, are completely unfounded, since Professor Maity did not even speak at the said meeting."

"We apprehend that these charges were brought against Professor Maity because he is an executive committee member of the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA), and has earlier protested against the Vice-Chancellor''s autocratic ways," JUTA said.

The All Bengal University Teachers Association (ABUTA) also condemned the suspension of the professor and demanded immediate withdrawal of the suspension order.

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