Bengal governor refuses comment on varsity 'referendum'

West Bengal Governor K.N. Tripathi Sunday refused to comment on a "so-called referendum" being conducted by Jadavpur University students to press for vice chancellor Abhijit Chakrabarti's resignation.

"Questions are being raised about the validity of the so-called referendum and, therefore, it is not proper for me, at this stage, to make a comment," Tripathi, who is the ex-officio chancellor of the university, told media persons here.

The referendum, among other issues, says the students are unanimously rooting for Chakrabarti's resignation. He Sep 17 allegedly ordered a police crackdown to break up a sit-in of students who were demanding an independent probe into the alleged molestation of a female student inside a hostel.

In the first leg of the referendum held Oct 30, a whopping 80 percent of students of the arts faculty voted in favour of Chakrabarti's removal. The second leg involving science and engineering departments will begin Nov 11.

The referendum also demands judicial probes into the police crackdown and the alleged molestation, reconstruction of the internal complaint cell with elected representative of students unions and setting up of police pickets and mandatory display of identity cards.