Three members of the executive council of Visva-Bharati have protested the appointment of former officiating vice-chancellor Sabuj Koli Sen as the principal of Vidya Bhavana.
The three are Sushovan Banerjee, Dulal Chandra Ghosh and Manju Mohan Mukherjee, the nominees of visitor (President Ram Nath Kovind), chancellor (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) and VC Bidyut Chakrabarty, respectively.
They wrote to VC Bidyut Chakrabarty on June 29, saying the appointment would be “unethical” and “inappropriate”. The trio said the EC had in the past found a breach of the varsity’s act and statute as Sen had overstayed in the post of officiating VC after the expiry of her tenure.
Varsity sources said the officiating registrar had issued an order on June 9 appointing Sen as the principal of Vidya Bhavana as the term of incumbent Asha Mukherjee was ending.
Sen, the most senior professor of Vidya Bhavana, will assume charge as the principal on July 9 if the order is not cancelled. Vidya Bhavana offers courses in Humanities.
In the letter, the three EC members asked the VC not to provide any important post to Sen.
Modi’s nominee Ghosh said: “There are allegations against Sen and the EC itself ordered a probe against her overstay. A one-man committee was formed with me and I submitted a report to the VC. Before the EC takes its final decision, the appointment of Sabuj Koli Sen is inappropriate and might encourage wrongdoings at the varsity. If Chakrabarty appoints Sen despite our objection, we will inform those whom we represent (Modi and Kovind).”
The President’s nominee Banerjee virtually echoed Ghosh. “The next EC meeting will be held in August and any post can be given to Sen after consideration by the EC. It is unfair to appoint her in any post right now,” said Banerjee.
An EC member said VC Chakrabarty had promised to look into the demand.
However, officials in the varsity said there was no conflict in the appointment of Sen as principal. “Sabuj Koli Sen is the most senior professor at Vidya Bhavana. According to the rules, she deserves the post — irrespective of other issues,” said an official.
Anirban Sircar, the public relations officer of Visva-Bharati, said: “The order (of appointment of Sen) still stands. We are discussing the issue.”
Sen declined comments.
Varsity sources said this was the first instance of a conflict between EC members and the varsity authorities after Chakrabarty had taken charge as the VC in November last year. “The conflict between EC members and the VC is not new at Visva-Bharati. On various issues, EC members went against the VC’s decision in the past,” said a senior varsity official.
