Kolkata: The tug of war between TMC-led West Bengal government and Governor CV Ananda Bose is showing no sign of respite. Soon after his return from New Delhi, Bose on Thursday launched a non-holds-barred attack on the Mamata Banerjee-led government. In a five-minute video, the Governor accused the state government of 'intimidating' all those vice-chancellors of universities who are appointed by him.
"The state government is applying all sorts of pressure tactics to bully and intimidate all vice-chancellors who were handpicked by me. This is quite serious an issue and needs attention. So far, five vice-chancellors have resigned. Such a situation where academicians and people holding top posts are forced to quit does not augur well for a system," Bose said.
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He continued, "I have come to West Bengal hoping to do some good work. I strongly feel that new generation is one of the biggest resources. Many bright students, who hope to study at higher educational institutes, are disillusioned due to the fact that they are not given conducive atmosphere in institutes. All these universities need to be violence and corruption-free."
He further said quality teachers are needed for aspiring students who want to be groomed under able teachers. Taking a swipe at state education department, he said the department is recruiting vice-chancellors in a blatant violation of the norm.
Bose alleged that state government insisted recruiting those persons, who are either involved in financial or moral corruption. "It's not an ideal situation. Scam-tainted persons of state government's choice should not make their ways to the highest pedestal of education. Now tell me as a custodian how can I appoint those people as vice-chancellors?" he said.
According to Bose, five VCs, who were forced to resign, complained to him against the state government saying goons threatened them with dire consequences at the behest of the government. The Governor vowed to fight to restore normalcy in universities till the end. "I'm taking vow in the name of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Rabindranath Tagore and Swami Vivekananda that I'll fight till the end to end the evil. I believe 10 crore brothers and sisters of Bengal are with me," he said.
