West Bengal’s state education minister Partha Chatterjee has slammed the state’s Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi for urging the Vice-Chancellors of state universities to celebrate the International Yoga Day on 21 June, Indian Express has reported.
As per the report, Chatterjee was irked by the fact that Governor Tripathi directly wrote to the Vice-Chancellors, which as per him was done by disrespectfully bypassing the state government.
The Times of India had reported on Thursday that Governor Tripathi, who is the Chancellor of all the state-run universities, had written to the Vice-Chancellor of the varsities asking them to celebrate the yoga day. This letter was supposedly written owing to many state universities and schools not celebrating it last year.
While Chatterjee is not sure whether this action is unconstitutional, he has called it a disrespectful action not done in good spirit. Possibly in order to not come out as an opponent of physical fitness, Chatterjee has claimed that the state government has been emphasising over including physical education in academic institutes.
A Times of India report even quoted Chatterjee as claiming that Mamata Banerjee has given priority to sports and that they would celebrate Yoga day in a befitting manner.
Interestingly Chatterjee’s claim of “state government being bypassed” has been disputed by the press secretary of the Governor – Manab Bandyopadhyay, who claims that a copy of the Governor’s letter was sent to the education minister. Chatterjee, though, has expressed ignorance about getting any such letter.
Incidentally, this isn’t the only time Governor Tripathi and the Mamata government have clashed.
Infamously during the Basirhat riots, Mamata had alleged that she had been ‘threatened’ by the Governor who as per her was acting like a BJP block president. The Governor’s office though had refused such allegation by stating that there was nothing threatening in his manner and that he was bringing the serious issue to Mamata’s notice.