West Bengal education minister Bratya Basu on Wednesday accused governor CV Ananda Bose of approving vice-chancellor appointments “in ones and twos” and acting like a “post box.”
While tabling the Bhawanipur Global University Bill, 2024, in the state Assembly, Basu turned his attention to the governor’s role in the appointment of VCs in 35 state universities.
He claimed that despite a Supreme Court directive giving the chief minister authority to appoint VCs from a list provided by a search committee, the governor continued to approve appointments arbitrarily, often selecting just two or three names at a time.
Basu said, “The governor is sitting on most appointments. The CM continues to show patience and respect towards his post, but patience has limits. If the governor continues to act this way, a day will come when such behaviour will be called out.”
He also criticised the governor for treating Raj Bhavan like a “post box” and insisted that Bose should follow constitutional provisions. “The delay in appointing VCs is affecting the functioning of universities,” Basu added, accusing the governor of acting “in a childish manner.”
Basu highlighted the Bhawanipur Global University, which will be run by the Bhawanipur Education Society, a trust largely representing the Gujarati community in Kolkata. The campus will be located on B L Saha Road in south Kolkata.
Basu noted that the university aligns with the state government’s policy of respecting and recognising all communities, religious and linguistic, living in harmony in West Bengal.
In response to BJP chief whip Shankar Ghosh, who criticised the Bill, Basu pointed out that many BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have several private universities, yet Ghosh did not raise objections in those cases.
Ghosh, in his speech, accused the state government of failing to curb corruption in private B.Ed colleges and higher education institutions. He also referenced the arrest of key figures in the state’s education department, including ministers, in corruption cases.
TMC minister Firhad Hakim and chief whip Nirmal Ghosh urged the Speaker to expunge the references to the arrests from Ghosh’s speech.
In his response, Basu highlighted similar arrests of political figures in states like Karnataka and Delhi but pointed out that these states continued to pass Bills for new universities, regardless of the controversies.
The Bhawanipur Global University Bill was passed by a voice vote before the House was adjourned sine die. Once established, the proposed institute will become the 44th university in West Bengal.
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