State Assembly passes Biswa Bangla Biswabidyalay Bill

Kolkata: The Biswa Bangla Biswabidyalay Bill 2017 was passed at the state Assembly on Tuesday.

While placing the Bill at the state Assembly, state Education minister Partha Chatterjee said: "The government has been considering to establish a general state-aided university in Bolpur in Birbhum district in the memory of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, with the view to explore and enrich the study of Rabindra literature and also to bring academic excellence in the field of literature studies."

According to the Bill placed by Chatterjee, the university will have all branches of studies including Indology, Indian Philosophy, Indian Languages, Indian Literature, Comparative Literature, Rabindra Literature, Humanities, Science and Cognitive Science, in a systematic manner so that the benefits of general education reach everywhere.

The university will be government-aided affiliated university with a unitary character. "Our primary objective is to create a Centre of Excellence in the field of literature, cultural and social studies in undergraduate and post graduate level having employability potential," the minister said.

Responding to the protests by the Opposition Left Front and Congress members while tabling the Bill, Chatterjee said it was surprising to see them objecting to the use of the word Biswa Bangla. He reiterated that the name has got nothing to do with the `Biswa Bangla' logo. "Now, they are opposing the words Biswa Bangla, later they might oppose the usage of Biswa or Bangla," he said.

The minister mentioned that the state is now having 20 state-run and nine private universities.

The LF and Congress members wanted the Bill to be referred to the selected committee which was declined by Speaker Biman Banerjee.