West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday denied receiving the invite to the centenary year celebrations of Vishwa Bharati University in Shantiniketan even as university authorities say the invite was sent 20 days in advance.
At a press conference Mamata said while also hitting out at the BJP, “They did not invite me for today’s convocation, no phone call. Suddenly some people have come, but they cannot destroy Vishwa Bharati. Those who are there today are just temporary, just for a few days as their days are numbered.”
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had visited the Central university on Sunday to pay respects to the Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore during his two-day visit to the state.
The BJP also hit out at Mamata over the issue.
“Visva Bharati had sent invite to WB CM on 4Dec2020. But for Pishi, politics is more important than the legacy of Gurudev Tagore! Never ever has a CM insulted Tagore’s Viswa Bharati like this! Pishi is impersonation of narrow mindedness that is pushing Bengal to utter darkness!” said BJP leader Amit Malviya while putting out the invite as well.
Mamata had tweeted earlier in the day saying, “Visva Bharati University turns 100. This temple of learning was Rabindranath Tagore’s greatest experiment on creating the ideal human being. We must preserve the vision and philosophy of this great visionary.”
Meanwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the centenary year celebrations virtually while focussing on the Atmanirbhar initiative, saying, “Visva-Bharati is a venerable source of constant energy to the country.”
