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Explained: Why West Bengal government wants to curtail the powers of Governor

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The controversy comes at a time when two leaders from the ruling TMC government namely, Partha Chatterjee, and Paresh Chandra Adhikari have been grilled by the CBI in the recruitment irregularities scam.

Kolkata, May 27: The West Bengal cabinet's unanimous decision to replace Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the chancellor of all state universities has stirred up a row.

"Today, the state cabinet gave its consent to the proposal to make the chief minister the chancellor of all state-run universities in place of the governor. This proposal will soon be introduced as a bill in the assembly," Basu said.

Explained: Why West Bengal government wants to curtail the powers of Governor

Reportedly, the West Bengal government will take the ordinance route, if the governor doesn't give his assent to the bill.

The controversy comes at a time when two leaders from the ruling TMC government namely, Partha Chatterjee, and Paresh Chandra Adhikari have been grilled by the CBI in the recruitment irregularities scam.

How Chancellor is appointed in India?

In most cases, Governor is ex-officio Chancellor of the State Universities. As per the provisions of the Act of the concerned University, the Governor has the authority to appoint the Vice Chancellor on the advice/ in consultation with the State Government.

As Chancellor, the Governor also presides over the Convocation of the State Universities, whenever present. Chancellor also appoints his/her nominees on various bodies like Senate, Syndicate, Board of Management, Selection Committee and Academic Council of the State Universities.

The Chancellor has been entrusted with the powers to enquire into the affairs of the State Universities as per the provisions of the Act.

What changes with the new bills?

Once the bill is passed, the government will be involved in the appointment of the VC; the governor will have no role to play. The bill also seeks to make the state government the final authority on the removal of VCs. The ouster will be carried out based on inquiry committee involving a retired high court judge or a bureaucrat who has served at least as a chief secretary

Other states with similar rules

West Bengal government is not the first state to which promises to replace Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the chancellor of all state universities.

Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra have passed a bill similar to Tamil Nadu last year. The bill allows the minister to make recommendations to the governor who is the chancellor of the universities.

It also proposes appointment of the Higher and Technical Education Minister as pro-chancellor of the universities.

Governor, State tussle in West Bengal

The West Bengal government move to make the chief minister the chancellor of the state-run universities in place of the governor can add a fresh twist to the already strained ties between Raj Bhawan and the government.

The seemingly unending tug of war between the TMC government and the governor had reached a new low after Mamata blocked Dhankhar's official Twitter handle because of his posts repeatedly targeting her government.

Can CM Mamata become Chancellor of State Universities?

As of now, there is a provision that the Chief Minister can replace the Governor in the post of Chancellor and states like Kerala and Tamil Nadu have the Chief Minister as the Chancellor in the state run universities.

If the West Bengal government passes the bill, then Mamata Banerjee is likely to hold the office of Chancellor.

However, the central government has responded sharply to the move and said it is looking into University Grants Commission (UGC) guidelines before initiating any action.

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