BJP Leader Slams Visva-Bharati VC, Says He Is Trying To Project Himself As Close To Party

BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra on Friday slammed Visva-Bharati university Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty for allegedly bringing disgrace to the union government by trying to project himself as a "pro-BJP" academician. Hazra wondered why the central university is targeting Nobel laureate Amartya Sen when several leaders of the ruling Trinamool Congress have “encroached” into the varsity land.

"Whatever Bidyut Chakraborty is doing as the vice-chancellor of the university is wrong. He is trying to project himself as more BJP than any BJP leader, and in this effort, he is harming the party," Hazra said. He said Chakraborty's activities tarnish the image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is the university's chancellor.

"The prime minister is the chancellor of Visva-Bharati university. And Bidyut Chakraborty is the VC. There is a perception that he has the approval of the top brass of the union government and the party for all his misdeeds. He has stopped famous festivals that were part of Visva-Bharati's heritage,” Hazra said. These lead to a wrong perception about the saffron party, he said.

"The VC's retirement is around the corner. Maybe to get an extension, he is trying to project himself as an ardent BJP leader," he said. Referring to allegations of "unauthorised occupation" against Nobel laureate Amartya Sen by Visva-Bharati, Hazra wondered why the university is silent on the alleged encroachment of the varsity’s land by TMC leaders.

"The VC is sending letters to Amartya Sen and sending out the wrong messages. But he did nothing about TMC leaders encroaching on the land of the varsity. The VC should first answer this and then lecture others," he said. Visva-Bharati, in two back-to-back letters last week, asked Sen to immediately hand over the land he is allegedly occupying in an "unauthorised manner" at the Santiniketan campus.

In a statement later, the varsity also gave Sen two options -- "intervention of the court of law or discussion with Visva-Bharati authority". On Monday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee handed over land-related documents to him, asserting that "no one can question him" in future.

Reacting to Hazra's allegations, BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said Chakraborty's credentials as an academician should not be questioned. "He is a very renowned academician of the country. The BJP, unlike the TMC, doesn't prioritise political affiliations other than academic records when it comes to appointing vice-chancellors," he said.