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Appointment of vice-chancellors in 24 Bengal universities illegal: Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar
State transport minister and mayor of Kolkata Firhad Hakim attacked Dhankhar, saying he was acting beyond his jurisdiction.
Kolkata: The appointment of vice-chancellors in 24 state-run universities in West Bengal was done illegally, Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar said on Thursday and warned of action if they are not recalled, even as the ruling Trinamool Congress said he was acting beyond his jurisdiction.
“VCs of 24 Universities appointed @MamataOfficial in disregard of law. These are ex facie in defiance of specific orders or without approval by Chancellor, the Appointing Authority. These appointments carry no legal sanction and would be forced to take action unless soon recalled,” Dhankhar tweeted.
While the President of India is the chancellor of most of the central universities, the governor is usually the chancellor of state-run universities.
State transport minister and mayor of Kolkata Firhad Hakim attacked Dhankhar, saying he was acting beyond his jurisdiction. “Who is the governor? He is the Constitutional head. His job is to see whether the state government is acting according to the Constitution. The way he is acting beyond his jurisdictions, it appears that we don’t have an elected government. Let there be no prime minister and chief minister and let the President and Governors rule the country,” said Hakim.
Dhankhar’s tweet comes a week after the West Bengal education minister Bratya Basu had suggested that the chief minister should be made the interim chancellor of state-run universities. Later, Dhankhar had attacked the state government in a sarcastic comment, suggesting the chief minister be appointed as the governor of the state.
Basu on Thursday tweeted a Bengali poem by poet Sukumar Ray to take a jibe at Dhankhar without naming him. Basu posted eight stanzas of ‘Lorai Khyapa’ (Fight Crazy), a satirical poem by Ray, in which the poet narrates the antics of ‘Pagla Jagai’ (Madcap Jagai) who often vents his ire over one issue or the other.
“This clash between the state government and the Governor is undesirable,” said Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha.
