The West Bengal cabinet on Monday approved a proposal to make the chief minister chancellor of all state-run universities, replacing the governor. The cabinet also approved a proposal to remove the governor as a visitor to private universities, with the state education minister replacing him.
The state-run universities in West Bengal come under various government departments such as health, agriculture, animal husbandry and minority affairs.
The decision will have to go through the West Bengal Legislative Assembly. It will be debated in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly, where the ruling TMC is in majority.
The action is seen as a result of chief minister Mamata Banerjee’s long-running feud with governor Jagdeep Dhankhar.
The Governor is currently the Chancellor of all State Universities.
Dhankar is the ex-officio chancellor of 17 universities in Bengal, as per the governor’s official website.
On May 26, the West Bengal Cabinet approved the introduction of a bill that would replace the governor as chancellor of all state-run universities with the chief minister.
BJP leader Amit Malviya had slammed Mamata Banerjee’s decision, calling it an “assault on federalism” and “another attempt to dodge accountability and transparency.”
(Inputs from ANI)