Mamata Banerjee took on the Viswa-Bharati authorities and the Centre today for continuing with its abrasive and arrogant show and disregarding the founder of Visva-Bharati, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

The chief minister is livid after receiving Visva-Bharati vice-chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty’s strongly-worded letter, asking her to return the road that the state government had taken away from the university in 2021. In a statement, the chief minister, who continues nursing her leg injury, said, “Abrasive and arrogant display of self-absorbed narcissism continues in what was the Gurudev’s abode.”

Likening Mr Chakraborty to a headman, she further said, “UNESCO recognizes the world heritage of Santiniketan but the local headman of today continues to flaunt his own little name in memorial pieces. For God’s sake remove the insulting plaques, which erase the name of Rabindranath Tagore from the face of the institution that the poet had so painstakingly founded. Show some dignity and humility.

The ruling dispensation in Delhi should take corrective step forthwith.” On Saturday too, the chief minister in a post accused the Visva-Bharati authorities of tying to denigrate the world heritage site, created by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore by replacing the former with site memorial plaques, with the name of the VC and missing the name of Gurudev.

In her post, the chief minister said, “This insults Tagore and belittles anti-colonial heritage creating efforts of our nation’s founding fathers. The Central government will be well advised to remove this narcissistic display of arrogant self-exhibitionism forthwith and to give Gurudev the tribute the country owes to him.”

Mr Chakraborty, in his response to the chief minister’s diatribe in a letter had said that people in her party were caught in corruption cases, whereas he was trying to eliminate corruption from the Rabindranath Tagore founded institution during his tenure. “In pursuant of my two letters addressed to you on 25 and 30 September, I am making the same request to you again within a gap of one month. I was under the impression that a month was enough to enable you to make up your mind.

I was also confident that the road was to be returned to VisvaBharati given your steadfast commitment to carry forward the Rabindrik traditions. Unfortunately, you appear to be indifferent to our request for returning the road to VisvaBharati presumably because you do not appear to see the ground reality by your eyes,” Mr Chakrabarty wrote.