‘Being forced to rally in V-C’s support’

Visva-Bharati MTS allege V-C forced them to rally for tenure extension; university trashes claim as “baseless and wild”. Mail sent to Union Education Minister, PM, Governor, CM & Rector.

A section of the multitasking staff (MTS) of Visva-Bharati University has claimed that Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty had forced them to take out a rally on its Santiniketan campus in support of the extension of his tenure.

The MTS members have written a mail to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan in the last week of October, triggering a fresh controversy.

Visva-Bharati authorities have trashed the claim as “baseless and wild” as no organisation’s name has been used in the anonymous mail sent in Bengali and English. Dr. Chakraborty’s term at the Central university is slated to end on November 8.

The mail drew Mr. Pradhan’s attention to “an attempt to organise a procession by MTS demanding extension of the V-C’s tenure”. It expressed dismay over the “attempt” since the 405 MTS were recruited by the National Testing Agency from among a panel of qualified candidates. “The recruitment was done not out of anyone’s mercy, not even the V-C himself,” the mail said.

The mail was also forwarded to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is the ‘Acharya’ or Chancellor of the Central university, Governor C.V. Ananda Bose, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Rector.