Guv faces ‘go back’ slogans, black flags on CU campus
Times of India | 25 January 2024
Kolkata: Governor C V Ananda Bose, who is the ex-officio chancellor of state-run universities, faced agitation by a section of Trinamool Chhatra Parishad supporters on Wednesday while entering Calcutta University’s College Street campus to attend the university’s foundation day programme. Black flags were also waved when he was leaving the campus.
The chancellor, who was the chief guest at the event, delivered his speen in Bengali, where he appealed to all stakeholders to join hands to make campuses corruption-free across Bengal.
The TMCP supporters waved their organisation’s flag and shouted “go back” when the governor was entering the campus. They were protesting against the chancellor for using university funds for the legal fight against the state at the Supreme Court. After the programme, officiating VC Santa Datta (De) said, “Some people staged a protest under the TMCP banner. I doubt how many of them were students.”
CU had invited former VCs, pro-VCs and registrar to the function. Former VC Sonali Chakravarti Banerjee, former pro-VC Dhrubojyoti Chottopadhyay, former registrar Basab Chowdhuri and former pro-VC Minakshi Roy attended the programme.
The university, however, did not send any invitation to the higher education department. The acting VC said, “We only called academics and not any political personality.”
Bose in his address said: “I will fight till the end and I’m appealing to people who want a corruption-free campus.”
He said, “I am a baby governor, having just completed a year. Babies feel secure with their mother as I feel secure in Bengal. I’m sure the mother (Bengal) will hold my hand tightly and I have the confidence that I will not fall down.”
On corruption-free cmpuses, the acting vice-chancellor said: “It is difficult to change a whole society but an attempt can definitely make some differences.”