Nidhu Bhusan Das
The Empoyees’ Association agitating against the Vice- Chancellor of North Bengal
University (NBU) appears to have a privileged relationship with the Chairman of West Bengal State Council of Higher Education Prof. Sugata Marjit.They evidently share ideas and strategy against the VC who opened the Pandora’s Box of alleged corruptions in the university,lodged FIR against Registrar Dilip Sarkar and suspended him for reported financial irregularities involving crores of rupees.
The pro-active Chairman Prof. Marjit is in private correspondence with the General Secretary of the association sharing the intentions and roadmap of the government regarding the installation of the next vice- chancellor of the university.He appears to be apologetic to the General Secretary Debi Prasad Boot in his e-mail of 18 December last in quick reply to Mr. Boot’s .
Mr. Boot writes to Prof Marjit on 17 December : ‘ The CPM nominated VC and his coterie spreading the extension of his tenure after 31st December 2011.Kindly stop this venture immediately to save our university.’
While Mr. Boot simply sought his intervention to prevent the extension of the tenure of the VC,Prof. Marjit is elaborate enough and shares other pieces of information .He informs Mr Boot that the VC has sent him the copy of the office order regarding the salary/pension affair and the recovery of the extra payment.
He also shares the information that the Higher Education office ‘has advised the VC regarding the Acting Registrar appointment problem,and it is being looked into by the government.’
Prof. Marjit candidly assures Mr. Boot he is ‘not in the business of making false promises’ leaving scope to construe that he might have made genuine promises to Mr. Boot.
The Chairman says, ‘all of us here prefer an immediate change ( of VC)’ and urges Mr.
Boot to realize their constraints and also to appreciate the fact that in spite of repeated
lobbying from different quarters inside and outside the government for no change at
least for a year,they are initiating a process of change definitely by early next year,by the
beginning of April. ‘The extension for 3 months (of VC’s tenure),if that’s the case,is in
the view of the Hon’ble Chancellor,NOT MINE,’says Prof.Marjit apologetically who
concuded the letter saying ‘I have done all I could.’ The tone, tenor and content of the
e-mail suggests Prof.Marjit and Mr.Boot are on the same wavelength vis-à-vis the
incumbent VC.The Alimuddin Street and their comrades in Kolkata University were
hand- in- glove against late Prof Santosh Bhattacharyya during his tenure as VC, recall
independent people in the NBU campus.
