V-B stalemate continues

Updated on: Monday, November 02, 2009

Santiniketan: The meeting between members of the Visva Bharati executive council and the agitating employees on Sunday yielded no result.

One of the posters that criticises the agitators
An emergency meeting of the council had been held in Kolkata on Saturday. There, it had been decided that the Central Vigilance Commission would probe the allegations raised against some employees of Rabindra Bhavan. A group of council members had been authorized to hear the demands of the agitating employees and churn out a solution.

Accordingly, council members and varsity registrar Manimukut Mitra sat in discussion with the agitators on Sunday. After the meeting, Debabrata Sarkar, the president of Karmi Sabha, said: “They told us that the internal committee had found no charges against the two employees of Rabindra Bhavan who had been transferred to other departments on the basis of false allegations. Though the council resolved to get the Rabindra Bhavan issue probed by an external agency, they said nothing about the investigation into the allegations raised against the vice-chancellor. So, we have decided to carry on our agitation. We have informed the registrar that hostel employees will also join the strike from Thursday. So, he may send the students home.”

Varsity authorities, however, considered the talks “positive”. Amitabha Chowdhury, the PRO of Visva Bharati, said: “The council members tried to convince the agitators about the necessity of normality returning to the varsity. They have been assured of whatever the varsity authorities can do within their limitations. They have agreed to take part in further discussions. We hope normality will return soon.”

The agitating employees, meanwhile, have started facing some resistance from colleagues and possibly, students. Salil Sahani, a teacher of Kala Bhavan, appeared at Chatimtala on Sunday, carrying a placard with the message: “Enough is enough. Let’s start teaching and learning”. The agitators snatched the placard from him and asked him to leave.

Some posters were also found near the gate of the central office, criticising the agitators. The posters were issued in the name of Visva Bharati Bachao Committee

V-B stalemate continues

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