Published 14:31 IST, July 16th 2020
WB Governor and CM Mamata duelling over VCs' meeting, Congress asks 'what's the fuss?'
West Bengal governor and CM locked horns again over video conference meeting between the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellors of the state-aided universities.
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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Governor of the state, Jagdeep Dhankar, are both known to have an acrimonious relationship. The two have locked horns again over the video conference meeting between the Chancellor and the Vice-Chancellors of the state-aided universities.
West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankar in a press conference on Thursday said that the situation of education is worrisome.
"I have written to CM earlier too as well. I work as Chancellor for students. The government says there is no provision of video conferencing with Vice Chancellors. Political flipped education won't help students in fact it will hurt the students. I'm trying to improve the education scenario," Dhankar said stating that his intent is to work for the welfare of students and the education system.
Adhir Ranjan Choudhury: 'Heaven would not have fallen'
Reacting on the situation, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhury has also opined that nothing disastrous would have happened if the permission to conduct the video conference would have given by the state government. He opined that such a sour relationship between two heads of the state is not good for the education sector of the state.
Heaven would not have fallen, had the virtual meeting between the Hon Chancellor and vice Chancellors of Universities in West Bengal been held, this kind of acrimony between two entities can not augur well for the education sectors of West Bengal
— Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) July 16, 2020
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What is the message purveying to the students? This kind of humiliation being meted out to the Hon Governor of WB Sh @jdhankhar1 Ji will certainly tarnish the image of the state itself
— Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) July 16, 2020
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Agitation-savvy @MamataOfficial can lodge protest to the Hon President, that the Hon Governor is not complying with constitutional protocols & he should be replaced. Why CM does not have the courage to protest instead of instigating this kind of frivolous act?
— Adhir Chowdhury (@adhirrcinc) July 16, 2020
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The tussle over video conference meeting
Governor Dhankar Dhankhar, who is also the de facto Chancellor of all state universities had called for a meeting on July 15 with the vice-chancellors of the state-aided universities by writing a letter to them on July 7 and 9. However, the vice-chancellors did not attend the meeting as the law of the state says the request for the meeting should be routed through the higher education department of the state government.
The law was changed last year due to which the vice-chancellors said they need a directive from the state's education department to attend the meeting. However, amid the back and forth in a communication between the parties involved and the politics over who has the control over the vice-chancellors, none of the vice-chancellors attended the meeting except the VC of West Bengal University of Health Sciences.
Had benefit of inputs from VC and Pro VC of West Bengal University of Health Sciences in Virtual Conference.
— Governor West Bengal Jagdeep Dhankhar (@jdhankhar1) July 15, 2020
Unfortunately other VCs in disregard of student interests failed in their duty to attend.
Would never compromise student welfare. Meeting Press on 16/07 at 11.30 am.
State government's response
Besides some of the vice-chancellors found the letter by the governor and chancellor as humiliating and intimidating, according to reports. Also, the state government in response to the governor has written that the communication between the chancellor and the vice-chancellors needs to be mandatorily endorsed by the state government.
14:31 IST, July 16th 2020