‘Jadavpur University will get 1300 crore, but those breaking India will be broken’: CM Suvendu Adhikari in Assembly

West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari has strongly defended the state government’s new inter-university transfer law, saying experienced teachers could be moved to newer institutions to strengthen them.

NewsBharati    11-Sep-2026 14:30:51 PM
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The West Bengal Assembly on Thursday passed a Bill allowing the transfer of teaching and non-teaching staff between state-run universities, even as Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari used the debate to launch a strong attack on the political atmosphere at Jadavpur University.
 
The West Bengal Universities and Colleges (Administration and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2026, was introduced by Higher Education Minister Jagannath Chattopadhyay during a special session. It was passed with 171 MLAs voting in favour and 15 against.

Suvendu Adhikari
West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, (Image: The Crossbill)
 
The Bill amends Section 14A of the 2017 law and gives the government the power to transfer university teaching and non-teaching staff from one state university to another when required.
 
Adhikari said the move was aimed at strengthening newer universities by making experienced teachers available to them.
 
‘Weaker universities have to be made stronger’
 
Adhikari said there was a “ground reality” behind the government's decision.
 
He said experienced teachers at established universities could help institutions that were still developing their academic infrastructure.
 
The government has particularly pointed to newer universities in places such as Jhargram and Cooch Behar, where experienced faculty could be moved to build departments and improve academic standards.
 
“The Bill will balance institutes' autonomy and accountability towards the government,” Adhikari said.
 
 
He also said the transfers would not affect PhD supervision or ongoing projects.
 
Those who did not agree with the legislation, he said, were free to leave their jobs.
 
“We aim to make weaker universities stronger and independent by applying the Bill,” the Chief Minister said.
 
‘Strict medicine’ for ‘anti-national forces’
 
The university transfer Bill, however, was only one part of Adhikari's remarks.
 
Turning to the situation at Jadavpur University, the Chief Minister accused some people on the campus of supporting what he described as “anti-national forces”.
 
He said such elements needed “strict medicines”, making it clear that his government intended to take a tougher position on activities it considers a threat to the country's unity.
 
His remarks come at a time when political tensions at Jadavpur University have intensified, with Left-leaning student groups and ABVP involved in clashes, protests, slogan wars and competing political campaigns.
 
 
‘Those calling for breaking India will be broken’
 
Adhikari also issued one of his strongest warnings while speaking about the university.
 
He said Jadavpur University would receive grants of around Rs 1,300 crore, but those calling for the country's break-up would not be spared.
 
His warning was directed at what he described as people who raise slogans calling for India to be broken.
 
‘I will speak Netaji’s language, not Gandhiji’s’
 
The issue of Kashmir slogans was another major point of Adhikari's speech.
 
He said that if slogans such as “Kashmir wants freedom” were raised at Jadavpur University, he would not respond in what he described as the language of Mahatma Gandhi.
 
Instead, he said, he would “speak the language of Netaji”.
 
‘So-called pundits’ may be moved to new universities
 
Adhikari also suggested that the new law could be used to move what he called “so-called pundits” from established universities to newly created institutions.
 
The government says the move will help newer universities develop into stronger academic institutions.
 
The Bill also creates a system that did not previously exist for university teachers. While transfers are common among government college teachers, particularly those appointed through the public service commission, there was no similar provision for university teachers to be moved between state universities.
 
 
Gopal Sen murder recalled
 
During his remarks, Adhikari also brought up the 1970 murder of Gopal Sen, a former vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University.
 
He said that if required, the government could set up a commission to look into the circumstances surrounding Sen's killing.
 
‘Gerua Samman Yatra’ preceded Assembly showdown
 
Adhikari's Assembly remarks came a day after he led the three-kilometre ‘Gerua Samman Yatra’ from Golpark to Jadavpur.
 
After the march, while speaking outside the Jadavpur University campus, he had already announced that the government would bring bill allowing university teachers and staff to be transferred between institutions.
 
 
He had also warned that he would challenge those raising what he described as separatist slogans from the campus.
 
Jadavpur University has since become the centre of a larger political confrontation in West Bengal, with rival student organisations competing over ideology, nationalism and the character of campus politics.
 
Bill could change the way Bengal universities are staffed
 
The passage of the Bill gives the West Bengal government a new tool to redistribute teaching and non-teaching staff across its universities.
 
The government says the aim is to ensure that newer institutions do not remain short of experienced faculty while established universities have greater academic resources.