Bengal governor removes JU officiating VC on disciplinary grounds

KOLKATA: West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Saturday removed Jadavpur University officiating vice-chancellor Buddhadeb Sau from his post on disciplinary grounds, a Raj Bhavan official said. The decision was taken a night before the varsity was scheduled to hold its convocation on Sunday.

Bose, the chancellor of all state-run universities, has also constituted an inquiry committee to probe complaints against the officiating VC, the official added. "The chancellor has removed Jadavpur University officiating VC Buddhadeb Sau from the chair after he received complaints that he was defying orders of the supreme court.

The chancellor said no VC will be allowed to defy the orders as the supreme court is our ultimate hope," the official told PTI. "An inquiry committee has also been set up to probe complaints received by the chancellor's office against Sau," the official added. "The authorisation given to Buddhadeb Sau on August 17, 2023 to exercise powers and perform the duties of the office of the VC, Jadavpur University, till further orders, is withdrawn.

The order will take immediate effect," the order stated. Mathematics professor Sau was named JU's officiating vice-chancellor in August. A raj bhavan source told PTI that the chancellor has said he is determined to clean up the universities of Bengal as per law and the decisions of the supreme court. The governor also said he will not allow Bengal universities to be destroyed by politics, the source added. Calling Sunday's convocation "unauthorised", the official said Bose decided to recover the money spent for the event from the salary of Sau and other organisers.

"Students have complained that they had to spend the hard-earned money of their poor parents to come for the illegal convocation convened by the VC under political pressure," he said. It was also learnt that the chancellor's office has sought legal opinion whether "the money can be recovered from the VC and the political forces which exerted pressure him to convene the illegal convocation."

According to the Raj Bhavan official, strict legal action will be taken against former JU international relations department head Om Prakash Mishra over charges of corruption and harassment. Mishra, who is also a former VC of North Bengal University, is currently the spokesperson of the pro-Trinamool Congress Educationists Forum.