West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee (Photo: PTI/File)
State Education Minister Bratya Basu after introducing the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the House. It was passed despite opposition from BJP
- News18.com Kolkata
- Last Update:13 June 2022 5:27 PM IST
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West Bengal Assembly has passed a bill to make Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Chancellors of state based universities. Usually, this post is held by the Governor of a state. The bill was passed amid protests by BJP MLAs.
State Education Minister Bratya Basu after introducing the West Bengal University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2022 in the House. Basu said there was nothing wrong in the chief minister taking over as the chancellor. “If the prime minister is the chancellor of a central university – Visva Bharati, why can’t the chief minister be the chancellor of state universities? You can read the recommendations of the Punchhi Commission. The governor, who is the current chancellor, has violated protocol on several occasions.
The bill was passed in the 294-member assembly after 182 members voted in favor of the law and 40 members voted against it. Opposing the bill, the opposition BJP alleged that appointing the chief minister as chancellor would lead to direct “political interference” in the state’s higher education system.
“The state government wants to control everything. The decision to appoint the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of Universities is being taken to facilitate direct interference of the ruling party in the education system of the state,” alleged BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul.
— PTI. with inputs from
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