In a major development, the West Bengal Assembly on Monday passed a bill to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as chancellor of state-run universities.
The clearance of the bill has come amid a rocky relationship between Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Governor Jagdeep Dhankar.
Amid opposition from the BJP MLAs, state education minister Bratya Basu tabled The West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the House.
While introducing the bill, Basu said there is “nothing wrong” with the chief minister taking over as the chancellor.
“Why can’t the chief minister be the chancellor of state universities if the Prime Minister is the chancellor of a central university – Visva Bharati? You can go through the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission,” he argued.
Lashing out at Jagdeep Dhankar, who remains at loggerheads with the TMC government, Basu said, “The governor, who is the present chancellor, has violated protocols on various occasions.”
Meanwhile, BJP alleged that appointing the chief minister as chancellor would lead to direct political interference in the state’s higher education system.
Speaking against the bill in the House, BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul alleged, “The state government wants to control everything. The decision to appoint the CM as chancellor of universities is being taken to facilitate direct interference of the ruling party in the state’s education system.”
The bill was passed after 182 members voted in favour of the legislation and 40 against it in the 294-member Assembly.
