Kolkata: Jadavpur University has disbanded a committee for approving events and directed the registrar to take charge of such affairs, following a row over a convention organised on campus by Left-backed student groups and attended by AISA president Neha Bora.
The convention, titled 'Gen Z Movement: Unity of Generation and Resistance ', on Monday discussed various demands, including scrapping the National Education Policy 2020 and the National Testing Agency, which conducts national-level entrance tests for higher education institutes, besides opposing the SIR of electoral rolls and the proposed ISI Bill.
The ABVP protested the alleged presence of political figures from outside the university and questioned whether the programme had administrative permission. The organisers countered by saying the RSS-affiliated student body has no right to talk about "outsiders" as several of its leaders with no association with the university had barged onto the campus in August during an unrest.
Following the row, university vice-chancellor Chiranjib Bhattacharya issued a notification on Tuesday stating that the 'Approving and Monitoring for Programmes' committee has been dissolved and Registrar Debjit Dutta would oversee the affairs until further orders.
Although the notification did not specify the reason for the decision, Dutta told PTI on Wednesday that the committee was dissolved due to a "procedural lapse" in granting permission to the event and a new panel will be formed soon.
"We have also show-caused the chairperson of the Approving and Monitoring for Programmes committee and the dean of students, seeking an explanation for the lapse," the registrar said.
Dutta asserted that Jadavpur University is in favour of freedom of expression and the right to organise programmes on campus. But the procedure to give a nod for the "political event" was not followed, he said.
The registrar had on Monday said he had not been approached for permission for the programme and his office did not give a nod to it. He had earlier warned that strict action would be taken if the event had been organised without requisite approval.
A senior faculty member, however, said the organisers of the programme had received approval from the committee concerned. However, under university rules, the committee's recommendation must reach the registrar, and that allegedly did not happen, he said.
RSS-linked teachers' organisation Akhil Bharatiya Rashtriya Shaikshik Mahasangh (ABRSM) chief Bhaskar Sardar said the event was accorded permission without following the laid-down procedure.
"The committee approved the programme without consulting the registrar. University halls can be let out to students' unions... Here, the programme was organised by AISA. There was a procedural lapse. We flagged the issue," he said.
This report was published from a wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.