A teachers’ body of Visva-Bharati on Wednesday sent an email to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the chancellor of the central varsity, over plaques installed on campus to mark the place’s recognition as a Unesco world heritage site with names of Modi and vice chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty but not founder and Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

Similar emails were sent to President Droupadi Murmu, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, and Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose. Murmu is the Visitor of the university. Bose is its rector.

At least two plaques that were recently installed on the varsity campus to notify the Unesco-recognised heritage sites only have the names of Modi and Chakrabarty. However, the omission of Tagore's name on them has triggered condemnation from many quarters.

In its email, the teachers’ outfit — Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA) — demanded action against the vice chancellor for "his wrongfully motivated misdeed".

“The entire episode reflects the bad taste and blatant self-advertisement of Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty... he has... insulted the founder of Visva-Bharati, Rabindranath Tagore, and you (Modi).... We request your kind necessary action against Prof Bidyut Chakrabarty for his wrongfully motivated misdeed,” reads the email signed by VBUFA secretary Kausik Bhattacharya.

“The varsity administration has admitted that these plaques, lacking Tagore's name, do not adhere to Unesco guidelines and will be replaced soon. That is why we wrote to our chancellor and other dignitaries.... We believe Chakrabarty unlawfully installed such plaques... shamelessly promoting himself,” said Sudipta Bhattacharyya, the VBUFA president.

Visva-Bharati acting public relations officer Mahua Banerjee had said earlier that these plaques were temporary and would be replaced by those from the Archeological Survey of India.

To this, many on the campus asked why, if this was indeed a temporary measure, the varsity had to install marble plaques on concrete structures.