Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar intimidating VCs of West Bengal varsities: Education minister Partha Chatterjee

KOLKATA: The Bengal government-versus-governor conflict reached yet another flashpoint on Tuesday, with state education minister Partha Chatterjee accusing governor Jagdeep Dhankhar of “intimidating” state varsity vice-chancellors with his “mastaan-marka kathabarta (ruffian-like demeanour)”.
“The governor is intimidating V-Cs, threatening institutional heads with punitive measures to make them follow his orders. Such mastaan-marka kathabarta does not behove the governor. The governor’s post is an honourable post,” Chatterjee said.

The minister’s comments came after Dhankhar ordered VCs to directly communicate with him, the chancellor of state varsities, even though the state government had adopted rules making it mandatory for universities to route all communication through the higher education department.
“All orders emanating from the chancellor be effected without delay and compliance duly reported. There has been lack of seriousness and omission by several VCs in performance of their functions under the applicable Act. Any laxity will entail consequences (in accordance with) the legal regime,” the governor’s order said, implying that state government rules could not “override” the provisions of an Act.
Dhankhar’s order came after Ashis Kumar Panigrahi took over as the Burdwan University pro-vice-chancellor following a state higher education department directive that ignored Dhankhar’s appointment of Gautam Chandra to the same post. “I joined office after I got an appointment letter from the higher education department,” Panigrahi said on Tuesday.
Dhankhar on Tuesday said the chancellor took suggestions from the state government and gave them “full consideration” but the power of appointment rested with the chancellor in accordance with university statutes; implicit in the statement was the view that consulting the state government might not always mean agreement. Dhankhar also took “strong exception” to Chatterjee’s Monday’s remark that Dhankhar had appointed a “BJP man”.
There was trouble at Bidhan Chandra Kirshi Viswavidyalaya (BCKV), Kalyani, as well where Trinamool-affiliated professors started an agitation against V-C Dharani Dhar Patra. Dhankhar last week gave a six-month extension to Patra, whose tenure would be ending next Tuesday. “The chancellor can give an extension to the V-C but the university statute warrants that he should do it in consultation with the state government,” BCKV employees’ union representative Maran Kumar Dey said.
Bengal has infrequently witnessed government-governor conflicts in the field of higher education but the recent exchanges between the state government and the current governor have easily overshadowed even the 1983 controversy when then governor AP Sharma appointed Santosh Bhattacharya as Calcutta University V-C against the Left Front government’s wishes.