CM, not Governor, to be chancellor of state varsities: Bengal Cabinet

Once again, the West Bengal administration has set the stage for a clash between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the state Governor Jagdeep Dhankar. The clash of Raj Bhavan with the government over educational institutions is nothing new. The people of the state have become very familiar with the clash between Jagdeep Dhankar as the Chancellor of all the universities in the state and the Vice-Chancellor of the universities. This time Mamata Banerjee’s cabinet has taken an important decision in that regard. According to sources, it has been decided in the cabinet meeting on Thursday that Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, will be the Chancellor of all the universities in the state. Education Minister Bratya Basu announced the decision at a press conference. Bratya Basu also said that in order to implement this decision, the law has to be passed in the Assembly. The state legislature has already started amending the law to make this proposal effective. The decision was taken unanimously at the state cabinet meeting on Thursday. State Education Minister Bratya Basu said the legal process would begin soon. If the amended law comes into force, Mamata Banerjee will be the chancellor of all the universities in the state.

According to sources, the state government may issue an ordinance if the Governor does not allow the law to be passed. Not only in Bengal, but also in several South Indian BJP states, the process of amending the law has begun. The administrations of Kerala and Tamil Nadu have decided to remove the Governor from the post of Principal and bring in the Chief Minister. The principal of the central universities is the Prime Minister of the country. In the case of the state, the Governor is usually appointed to this post. But this time, the administration of Bengal also joined the bandwagon as in Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Congress leader and former state opposition leader Abdul Mannan said the TMC government was making illegal decisions at will. The bill has to be passed in the Assembly.