The state government declared a holiday for Vishwakarma Puja on Wednesday, but Calcutta University remained open. The decision once again highlighted the ongoing tussle between CU’s authorised vice-chancellor Santa Datta Dey and the Mamata Banerjee government.

While Presidency, Jadavpur, and Rabindra Bharati universities stayed shut in accordance with the state’s advisory, CU’s College Street campus remained operational, with the VC, registrar, and other officials present.

Student attendance, however, was thin. Only a few departments held classes. A professor from the engineering and technology faculty said some BTech classes took place at the Salt Lake campus.

“The cancellation of the holiday was announced abruptly on Tuesday. Assuming it would be a holiday, we didn’t schedule any classes for September 17. Students had already been informed accordingly. So, attendance was negligible,” said a professor who requested anonymity.

On Tuesday, VC Datta Dey had told reporters: “CU’s academic calendar does not list a holiday for Vishwakarma Puja. Jadavpur University has one, likely because of its strong engineering faculty, which has a puja.”

A CU official noted that the university did declare a holiday on September 3 for Karam Puja, following the state government’s advisory. “But the VC decided otherwise this time. The poor student turnout suggests the move didn’t have the desired effect,” said a senior official.

Datta Dey told Metro: “Postgraduate counselling for admission was held as scheduled on Wednesday. Some departments also held classes. The state government’s holiday notice was issued on its portal for state government offices and establishments. No corresponding order was sent to the university registrar.”

When asked why CU declared a holiday for Karam Puja, she said: “That was already listed in the university’s calendar.”

She added that CU did not observe a holiday for Vishwakarma Puja last year either. “JU declared a holiday on September 17 because it was in their academic calendar. I don’t know why Presidency and RBU stayed closed.”

CU registrar Debasis Das declined to comment.

Amit Roy, secretary of the science and engineering faculty, said that postgraduate counselling was held in subjects like Hindi and English, but could not specify how many classes took place.

A CU official pointed out that Datta Dey, who was appointed authorised VC by Governor C.V. Ananda Bose in June 2023, has often been atodds with the state government.

When asked not to hold meetings of decision-making bodies like the syndicate — citing her status as authorised and not full-time VC — she continued to do so.

In September 2024, she conducted the degree awarding ceremony despite the education department’s objections. Most recently, she refused to defer the undergraduate exams scheduled on August 28, which coincided with the Trinamool Congress Chhatra Parishad foundation day.

“She has kept up her defiant stance by refusing to declare a holiday for Vishwakarma Puja,” said a senior CU official.