Wait till midnight to see action, says Guv amid tussle between Raj Bhavan & state govt

PTI, Kolkata, Sep 9, 2023 : A day after West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu accused him of trying to “destroy” the higher education system in the state and running a “puppet regime” in the universities, Governor C V Ananda Bose on Saturday warned of much bigger action at midnight.

“Wait for the stroke of midnight today. You will see what is the action,” Bose told reporters on the sidelines of a programme here.

Minutes after Bose’s comment, Basu, without naming the governor, mocked him by calling him the “new vampire in town” and cautioned the people to “beware of him”.

“See till midnight, see the action” BEWARE! BEWARE! BEWARE! New Vampire in the town! Citizens please watch yourselves. Eagerly waiting for the “Rakkhas Prahar” (monster prahar), according to Indian Mythology!,” Basu posted on ‘X’.

In the continuing war of words between the West Bengal government and the Raj Bhavan over the appointment of interim vice-chancellors in universities, Basu had on Friday accused the governor of trying to “destroy” the higher education system in the state.

The minister also charged the governor, who is also the chancellor of state-run universities, with running a “puppet regime” in the varsities and threatening registrars not to hold meetings with the higher education department.

“The honourable governor wants to run a puppet regime by appointing people according to his whims to satisfy someone’s ego. He is making a constant effort to dismantle the higher education system,” Basu said.

Later, the West Bengal Educationists’ Forum, in a statement, described Bose’s statements on midnight action as “threats”.

“It is unfortunate to witness the chancellor blaring out threats of staging a midnight drama of revenge against the educationists and the officials and functionaries of the state higher education department,” the statement said.

The governor, in his capacity as the chancellor of state-run universities, has recently appointed interim vice-chancellors for eight varsities, including the prestigious Presidency University, MAKAUT and the University of Burdwan, a step which was severely criticised by the chief minister as a bid to interfere with the running of state-administered universities.

Sources said the interim vice-chancellors of eight other universities have also been finalised and appointment letters “will be issued soon”.