Elections

West Bengal Governor Asks Govt To Remove Education Minister From Cabinet For MCC ‘Violation’

West Bengal Education Minister Bratya Basu had expressed his discontent with the Governor’s action.

PTI
West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose | Photo: PTI
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West Bengal Governor CV Ananda Bose on Thursday asked the state government to remove Education Minister Bratya Basu from the cabinet for allegedly violating Model Code of Conduct (MCC).

Earlier, Bratya Basu had criticised Governor Bose’s decision to remove Gour Banga University’s interim vice-chancellor Rajatkishore Dey. He had termed Governor’s decision as “illogical and mere antics”.

Basu had expressed his discontent with the governor’s action, stating that it goes against the model code of conduct, especially considering the announcement of poll dates.

“Residents of the state are fed up and exasperated by the meaningless antics of the governor. It defies logic. He is even violating the model code of conduct as the poll dates have been announced,” PTI quoted Basu as saying.

Basu had also questioned whether the recent West Bengal College and University Professors’ Association (WBCUPA) state convention at Gour Banga University might have provoked the Governor, even though the VC wasn’t present at the event.

West Bengal’s Raj Bhavan in a notice on March 31 night said, “The authorisation given to Prof Rajat Kishore Dey as per order dated August 21, 2023 to exercise the powers and perform the duties of the office of the VC University Gour Banga is withdrawn. The order will take immediate effect.”

This move by Bose follows the removal of Jadavpur University’s interim VC Buddhadeb Sau on December 23, after Sau proceeded with holding an annual convocation despite objections from Raj Bhavan.