Calcutta University convocation will be held without governor, if necessary: WB minister

Kolkata, January 14

West Bengal minister Partha Chatterjee has said if necessary, the upcoming Calcutta University convocation will be held without Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar as he has “consistently” made statements targeting the state government.

However, the higher education minister said the final decision would be taken by the university as it is an autonomous body.

The Calcutta University convocation is scheduled to be held on January 28.

The higher education department would not have, in usual situations, thought about not inviting the governor, who is the chancellor of the state universities, to a programme like a convocation, Chatterjee told reporters on the sidelines of an event here on Monday evening.

“But, the way he has been consistently making controversial comments targeting every move of the state through his tweets does not befit his stature as governor…Hence, we may have to opt for such a step (like not inviting him to the convocation) finally,” the minister said when asked whether Dhankar would be present at the convocation.

Chatterjee said the final decision, however, would have to be taken by the university concerned as it is an autonomous institution. “We won’t interfere in what they do. Let us see,” he said.

On Monday, a meeting called by Dhankhar to discuss the situation in different state universities with vice chancellors and the higher education secretary could not be held at the Raj Bhavan as neither the VCs nor officials turned up.

There were also reports that Dhankhar had sent back a file regarding Calcutta University to the department recently instead of signing it as chancellor.

Last year on December 24, the governor was prevented from attending the convocation of Jadavpur University by a Trinamool Congress-controlled employees union and faced student protests, which were held on the university’s campus.

The government and the governor were also at loggerheads over certain issues since Dhankhar’s visit to Jadavpur University to ‘rescue’ Union minister Babul Supriyo on September 19. PTI