'State has not flouted any norms in appointment of V-Cs'

Kolkata: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Sougata Roy said on Thursday that the state has not flouted any norms in connection with the appointment of vice-chancellors of state universities and the Governor cannot take any action regarding the appointments.

"If the state government has given any appointment as vice-chancellor of a university, it must have been in adherence to the law of that particular university. So he (the Governor) has nothing to take action. As far as my knowledge, the state has the right to recruit vice-chancellors," Roy said.

He added that the state government is already mulling to remove the Governor from his post as chancellor of state universities. "Files sent to him are delayed and in some cases continue to remain in his possession for a long time. He often does not sign files and return it back," Roy said.

Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday claimed that appointments of vice-chancellors of 24 universities in the state were made without his approval or in defiance of orders. "VCs of 24 Universities appointed @MamataOfficial in disregard of law. These are ex facie in defiance of specific orders or without approval by Chancellor-the Appointing Authority. These appointments carry no legal sanction and would be forced to take action unless soon recalled," Dhakhar tweeted.

He furnished a list of 24 state-run universities including Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, Presidency University, Rabindra Bharati University where he alleged that appointments have been made without his approval. Some days back, vice-chancellors of private universities did not attend a meeting called by the governor earlier in the month at the Raj Bhawan in Kolkata.