Kolkata: Visva Bharati University breaks tradition, invites Mamata Banerjee to dais

Sabujkali Sen, acting vice-chancellor of the Santiniketan-based university, said that usually, only the chancellor, vice-chancellor and rector stand on the dais during the convocation ceremony. “Late Siddhartha Shankar Ray was the last West Bengal chief minister to have attended the ceremony in 1975 or 1976. Mamata Banerjee will be on the dais along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. University Rector and Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi will also be present,” Sen said Thursday.

On reaching Santiniketan Thursday, Mamata said, “I was unaware that I will be the first Bengal CM to be present on the dais.”

Visva Bharati is the only central university in the country which has the prime minister as its chancellor. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had last attended the convocation in 2008. “Due to some reasons, the convocation ceremony could not be held in the last five years,” said the acting V-C.

After attending the convocation, Mamata and the two prime ministers will inaugurate Bangladesh Bhavan, which has been set up on the university campus. The Bangladesh Bhavan will house a museum, auditorium, library and cafeteria. Modi and Hasina are scheduled to hold talks there after the inauguration. Sources said the two are likely to discuss issues like Teesta water-sharing, cross-border terrorism and the migration of Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Bangladesh.