Days after the Raj Bhavan issued a circular directing officials of state universities to not take orders directly from the government, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday said that she would block funds to varsities if the institutions operated in accordance with the Governor's orders. Speaking during a programme organised on Teachers’ Day at the Dhana Dhanye auditorium, Banerjee said, “The Governor says he alone will oversee colleges and universities in the state. Have you ever heard that a vice-chancellor was changed in the middle of the night? Former IPS officers and former judges have been brought in overnight (as vice-chancellors of universities).He appointed a BJP man as the vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University at midnight. He made an IPS officer of Kerala cadre the vice-chancellor of a sensitive university such as Aliah. He recruited a person with no academic experience as the VC of Rabindra Bharati University,” she added. “If any college or university obeys the Governor, I will block their funds. Let's see how the vice-chancellor is given a salary. I will see how professors, teachers and employees are given salaries in universities," Banerjee said, Claiming that it was a conspiracy for the collapse of the system, she said, “We will not allow this to continue. If the Governor thinks he is bigger than the chief minister, we will fight him back. He should not forget that he is nominated to that post.” On Sunday, Governor Bose had issued a circular stating that vice-chancellors are the principal executive officers of state universities and other officials of the institutions will not take orders directly from the government or execute those without their consent. The CM also hit out at the Governor for holding bills passed in the West Bengal Assembly. “The Governor's actions are an attempt to paralyse the state administration. He is not returning a single bill passed by the Assembly. There is a provision that if a bill is sent to him he has to return it. If a bill is returned twice, it becomes an act. He is not returning a single bill,” she said. “According to the Constitution, he can not do that. I will sit on a dharna in front of the Raj Bhawan. I will not allow them to break the federal structure,” said the CM. Governor Bose, in his capacity as chancellor of state-run universities, had last week appointed interim vice-chancellors of seven varsities. The seven universities where interim VCs were appointed on Sunday are West Bengal State University, Presidency University, Uttar Banga Krishi Vishwavidyalaya, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology, University of Burdwan, Netaji Subhas Open University and West Bengal University of Animal and Fishery Sciences. The move also drew severe criticism from the West Bengal government with state education minister Bratya Basu slamming the Governor Bose for acting in a “dictatorial manner”. –With PTI inputs
