President withholds assent to Bengal bills altering university chancellor post; Guv Bose to continue

Kolkata, Dec 24 (PTI) President Droupadi Murmu has withheld assent to two amendment Bills passed by the West Bengal government that sought to replace the governor with the chief minister as chancellor of state-aided universities, the governor's office said on Wednesday.

As a result, Governor CV Ananda Bose will continue to discharge his duties as the chancellor as before, in line with the existing legal provisions, it stated.

In April 2024, Bose had reserved the West Bengal University of Animal & Fishery Sciences (Amendment) Bill, 2022 and the West Bengal Krishi Viswavidyalaya Laws (Second Amendment) Bill, 2022 for consideration of the President of India.

Both the bills, passed in June that year, sought to replace the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of the state-aided universities.

The statement noted that the principal Acts of the state-aided universities currently provide that "the governor shall, by virtue of his office, be the chancellor of the university." The decision to withhold assent comes amid ongoing debates over the role of the governor in state university administration, the statement added. PTI SCH MNB