West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu on Saturday described the officiating vice-chancellors of universities appointed by Governor CV Ananda Bose without consulting the state government as "illegal entrants." Basu justified the decision to exclude those officiating VCs in a symposium organised by the higher education department held in collaboration with CII.

"The VCs should be appointed following discussions between the governor and the higher education department. The Supreme Court has already termed the appointment of interim VCs by the governor without taking the state in confidence as illegal," the minister told reporters.

The department has invited to the symposium only those academics who were appointed as per law, he said.

"We don't think any illegal entrant is needed here," Basu said.

Governor Bose, who is the ex-officio chancellor of state-run universities, has appointed officiating vice-chancellors in 16 varsities. The post is still vacant in several other such institutes. Asked about the officiating Vice Chancellor of Jadavpur University Buddhadeb Sau having convened a meeting of the Executive Council, the highest decision-making body of the varsity, Basu expressed disapproval of any such move.

"If we have not been consulted about the EC meeting, and so far I remember, we have not been, that move by the university is violative of the Supreme Court’s observation on the issue. I will again crosscheck if we have been intimated. And if I find we had not been kept in the loop, we will bring it to the notice of the Supreme Court," he said.

The apex court on October 6 had stayed the emoluments of newly appointed interim VCs of state universities in West Bengal. In an earlier ruling, it said it would set up a search committee to pick up VCs.

About allegations by a theatre group in North 24 Parganas district that its bookings of a municipality-owned auditorium in Kalyani have been cancelled at the last moment after they staged an “anti-government” play in Calcutta, the minister said, "Theatre cannot be stopped, theatre will move on its own." Basu, an acclaimed theatre personality, however, added that he would talk to the chairman of Kalyani Municipality to know the reasons for cancelling the bookings before commenting further on the issue.

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