Tezpur University students, staff reject CM’s pro-VC plan as shutdown enters Day 6

Guwahati, Dec 4: The shutdown at Tezpur University in Assam’s Sonitpur district entered its sixth day on Thursday, as students continued to demand the removal of the vice-chancellor (VC) Shambhu Nath Singh.

Staffers of the central university also rejected Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s proposal to appoint a pro vice-chancellor to address the crisis.

In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Tezpur University United Forum (TUUF) said the chief minister’s suggestion “reflects a clear misunderstanding of the movement’s long-standing demand”.

“The Tezpur University fraternity strongly rebuts the Assam chief minister's recent statement regarding the ongoing crisis on the campus. His suggestion to appoint a pro vice chancellor reflects a clear misunderstanding of the movement's long-standing and repeatedly communicated demand: the urgent appointment of an acting vice chancellor,” the forum said.

The agitation, under the banner of the TUUF, has roiled the campus for weeks. The forum claimed the university has been in “turmoil” for 76 days and alleged that the chief minister “chose to remain silent” throughout this period.

“Our demands remain unchanged. We want immediate suspension of the current vice-chancellor pending enquiry, appointment of an acting vice-chancellor (not a pro-VC), and publication of all inquiry reports already submitted to authorities,” it added.

The forum also questioned the timing of Sarma’s “sudden” intervention, suggesting it may be linked to the national attention the issue has received.

“We doubt whether he is acting out of genuine responsibility or political self-preservation,” the statement said.

The forum’s response came after Sarma posted on social media that he had spoken to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan about the shutdown and urged the Centre to appoint a pro-VC immediately, pending an impartial enquiry into the conduct of the present VC, Shambhu Nath Singh.

State Congress president Gaurav Gogoi, on Thursday, also criticised the chief minister, accusing him of “masking the failures” of the current VC by proposing a pro-VC.

“Real leadership would have meant standing with the faculty, staff and students of this prestigious university,” he said in a social media post.

Meanwhile, a faculty member said the shutdown has been partially relaxed for departmental emergencies and pending work for a few hours in the morning since Wednesday.

Both the Tezpur University Teachers’ Association (TUTA) and the Tezpur University Non-Teaching Employees’ Association (TUNTEA) have extended support to the ongoing agitation.

The vice-chancellor has stayed away from the campus since September 22, when a noisy altercation with students forced him to leave the spot.

PTI