Left Front members in the West Bengal Assembly today staged a walk-out protesting against the government's attempt to table a bill providing for setting up of private Amity University in the state without submitting the feasibility report prepared by a seven-member committee.
Tabling the bill, state's Higher Education Minister Partha Chatterjee said that feasibility of the proposal for the setting up of the university had been examined by a seven-member committee headed by the Vice-Chairman of the West Bengal State Council of Higher Education.
RSP member Subhas Naskar questioned why the report of the seven-member committee would not be tabled in the House before the passing of the bill.
Naskar said that a number of privite university bills had been passed in the House without taking Assembly members into confidence.
Naskar drew attention of the House, saying there must be something wrong. He urged the minister to withdraw the bill and table the report of the seven-member committee first before moving the bill.
The education minister was, however, unmoved and pressed for the passage of the bill, prompting the entire strength of LF members rush to the Well and later walk out of the House.
The minister later said that the state government would have a monitoring cell to keep control over these private universities including their fee structure.
Chatterjee argued that private universities would help prevent brain drain from the state.
The Congress members also walked out of the House followed by lone SUCI member Tarun Kanti Naskar. Lone BJP member Samik Bhattacharya was not present during the discussion on the bill.
The bill was passed in the House without the presence of Opposition.
Subsequently, another private university bill, University of Engineering and Management, Kolkata, Bill, 2014 was similarly without the Ppposition being present.
While the Amity University would come up over 10 acres of land in Rajarhat New Town, the University of Engineering and Management would come up at Salt Lake Sector-V.
