Bengal govt has reservations about governor sending letters to VCs: minister

West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday said that the state government has objected to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sending letters to vice-chancellors of universities of north Bengal to know the reasons behind their absence at a meeting convened by him.

West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee on Sunday said that the state government has objected to Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar sending letters to vice-chancellors of universities of north Bengal to know the reasons behind their absence at a meeting convened by him. The governor, who is also the chancellor of state-run universities and now in Darjeeling for a month-long visit, had tweeted on November 4 that he was looking forward to a meeting with all the VCs of the regions varsities on November 9 to be updated with affairs of the institutes.

However, there was no information that any of the VCs of Raiganj University, North Bengal University, Gour Banga University and Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma University attended the meeting at Raj Bhavan in Darjeeling, higher education department sources said. Chatterjee, also the Trinamool Congress secretary general, told reporters that he has come to know that letters were being sent from the governor's office to the VCs "seeking to know the reason behind their absence at the meeting".

"This move hurts the dignity of the state and its institutions. This move is humiliating. I have communicated our reservations to him (Governor)," he said. The ruling party had run-ins with Dhankhar on several issues concerning universities including his convening meeting with VCs and their non-attendance on past occasions.

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