West Bengal Assembly passes Bill to appoint CM as Chancellor of varsities

New Delhi, June 13

The West Bengal Assembly today passed a Bill to make the Chief Minister Chancellor of all state universities. BJP legislators protested but just 40 votes were polled against the Bill and 183 were in favour.

40 vote against

• BJP legislators protested but just 40 votes were polled against the Bill
• As many as 183 legislators were in favour
• The Governor, by virtue of his position, is the Chancellor of all state-run universities.

The move had earlier been cleared by the state Cabinet in the backdrop of Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar’s clash with the state government over appointments of Vice Chancellors. The Bill will now needs the Governor’s assent.

There have been instances where Governors in Opposition-ruled states have sat on Bills for a long time and sent them to the President.

The Governor, by virtue of his position, is the Chancellor of all state-run universities.

Last month, Tamil Nadu had passed a Bill empowering the state government to take over the Governor’s power of appointing Vice Chancellors.

State Education Minister Bratya Basu, after introducing the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022, in the House, said there was “nothing wrong” with the Chief Minister taking over as the Chancellor.

“Why can’t the Chief Minister be the Chancellor of state universities if the Prime Minister is the Chancellor of a central university — Visva Bharati? You can go through the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission… The Governor, who is the present Chancellor, has violated protocols on various occasions,” Basu said. The development is likely to add fresh fuel to the running feud between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Dhankhar.

In January, Dhankhar had alleged that Vice Chancellors of a number of state universities in Bengal had been appointed without his consent.