Visva-Bharati University should not be dragged into political controversy: Jagdeep Dhankhar

The Visva-Bharati University should not be dragged into a political controversy, said West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday.

"Not all balls are meant to be played in the game of cricket and not all balls are meant to be spared. The university should not be dragged into a political controversy. Those who want to put Visva Bharati University into a controversy, I appeal to them to give total autonomy to the institution and the Vice-Chancellor," said Dhankhar while speaking to the media.

"If you want to contribute in a positive manner for the betterment of public, strengthen democracy, restore faith in the constitution and keep rule of law above all, then do not play every ball," he said.

His remarks come after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee skipped the Visva-Bharati centenary celebration, which was addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today.

Responding to Banerjee's comment that there is "no place for outsiders who come during polls and incite violence", he said that "this remark against me is a no-ball".

On December 21, Dhankar had said that the practice of calling someone from another region of the country as an "outsider" is unconstitutional.

On November 26, Banerjee while addressing a press conference had said, "There is no place for outsiders in Bengal who come only during elections to incite violence. I say this place is not for outsiders. They come here only to do politics during elections."

Calling on to preserve the vision and philosophy of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, Banerjee, after not attending the event, termed Visva-Bharati in Shantiniketan his greatest experiment to create ideal human beings.

"Visva Bharati University turns 100. This temple of learning was Rabindranath Tagore's greatest experiment on creating the ideal human being. We must preserve the vision and philosophy of this great visionary," she tweeted.

It is to mention that in August this year, locals had created a ruckus over the construction of a boundary wall near the Mela ground, which belongs to the University. Protestors had allegedly damaged some structures.

The university had then demanded actions against miscreants responsible in connection with the incident including them being booked immediately and compensation of losses to be recovered from them.

A day after vandalism at Visva Bharati University (VBU) campus, Dhankhar had urged Banerjee to enforce accountability of "those who engaged in the desecration of VBU premises."

Founded by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in 1921, Visva-Bharati is also the oldest Central University in the country. In May 1951, Visva-Bharati was declared to be a Central University and an Institution of National Importance by an Act of Parliament.

(ANI)

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