In another feud with the Vice-Chancellor, a show-cause notice was issued yesterday, November 29, against the president of the Visva-Bharati University Faculty Association (VBUFA), Sudipta Bhattacharyya, for instigating the students. The notice, seeking an explanation, accuses the professor of provoking a group of students to vandalise the university property on the day of the gherao — an allegation that Prof Bhattacharyya vehemently denies. "This is another fabricated allegation against me to harass me. Since 2020, show-cause notices have been the norm at Visva-Bharati University, thus, they are no longer even a surprise. Most of these get dismissed in court, so, this is nothing more than an attempt made to suppress voices of dissent," says Professor Bhattacharyya in his defence, while speaking to EdexLive.
The notice that was issued reads, "It has been reported on 23rd November 2022 that you have instigated a group of students while they were agitating in the office of the Vice Chancellor to undertake vandalism, seize the office room of the Vice Chancellor, disrupt the normal activities of the university and other unlawful activities."
What happened?
On November 23, the Vice-Chancellor of VBU was gheraoed for 12 hours by 50-60 students demanding his resignation. As per VBUFA, the demand was due to pent-up resentment owing to the indiscriminate punitive measures taken against the students and employees with false allegations since the current VC took over. Faculty members and students claim that following the gherao, outsiders broke into the campus and got violent with the students — damaging university property and beating up students. They further insinuate that the VC summoned the violent outsiders, but according to the university's show-cause notice, these vandals were actually students who were provoked by the President of VBUFA. "The vandals were outsiders and not the students. The protesting students here are adults with voting rights, members of large student federations and victims of the vindictive nature of the VC. So, how is it possible that I would ever be able to instigate them? The accusation is completely baseless," asserts Prof Bhattacharyya.
A bit of the background
To recall, VBU has encountered numerous show-cause and suspension orders since VC Bidyut Chakrabarty assumed his position in November 2018. The university has, so far, embroiled itself in more than 100 judicial proceedings and has taken up fights with several employees and students. Nevertheless, most of the interim court orders have been against the University. Prof Bhattacharyya was previously suspended for breaching the code of conduct by communicating with the media — a directive that was issued after Chakrabarty's appointment, barring employees from interacting with the press.
Additionally, Prof Bhattacharyya's presence at the site of the protest is being questioned. However, as per sources, other professors were also present at the site, nonetheless, only Prof Bhattacharyya has been thrust with a notice. "This is unequivocal proof of the vindictive nature of the VC. He has spent the last couple of years solely victimising the staff and students with absurd accusations and this is another one," concludes the accused professor.
