Kolkata: In a sign of escalating tension between the West Bengal government and Governor CV Ananda Bose over recruitment of vice chancellors in universities, former vice-chancellors of state-run varsities have sent a legal notice to Raj Bhavan asking Bose to apologise within 15 days for allegedly defaming a section of them.
A platform of pro-Trinamool Congress ex-VCs and educationists too exception to the Governor's claim that Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is recruiting her own people to the post in an undemocratic manner which smacks of nepotism and brought dishonur to Chief Minister's chair.
Stung by the Governor's comment, the Trinamool-backed academicians launched a scathing attack on Bose. They said 12 former vice-chancellors were "distressed and distraught by the disrespectful, false and defamatory accusations" made by Bose as his capacity in the chancellor of the state-run universities.
Bose, who is at war with the state government over the appointment of interim VCs in universities, had in a first such move made by any Governor in West Bengal brought serious allegations against the Mamata Banerjee-led govenment which he accused of indulging in corrupt practices hooliganism on university campuses across the state.
In a video message last week, he said, "There were allegations of corruption, sexual harassment and political interference against some VCs who were earlier appointed" and that was why their tenures were not extended. The platform, Educationists' Forum, also in the legal notice said the former VC would file defamation cases against the governor if he did not apologise and a fine of Rs 50 lakh will also be demanded for each of them.
"We are of the view the honourable chancellor's unsubstantiated comments have maligned the renowned academicians who were functioning as VCs to the best of their ability. We demand that he take back the comments immediately," the forum's spokesperson Omprkash Mishra told a press conference.
He continued, “Otherwise, each of the 12 former VCs will be separately sending legal notices to the Chancellor for his defamatory statement,” Educationists' Forum spokesperson Omprkash Mishra told a press conference.
Several of those vice-chancellors whose tenures were not extended were present at the press meet. The Forum also took exception to the Chancellor's decision to form an appointment panel for speeding up vacancies of teachers in state universities.
“This is another example of bypassing well-established recruitment norms," claimed Mishra, former Vice Chancellor of North Bengal University. Recently, Bose justified his stance saying the Calcutta HC insisted that on appointments of VCs, the governor needs to consult the state government, but has upheld that he does not need the state's concurrence in appointing VCs.
