I did send some names to the principal but did not pressure him at any stage to admit them violating the merit list. — Shashi Panja Trinamul MLA

Trinamul Congress leader Shashi Panja who had on Tuesday proposed to the Jaipuria College governing body that the principal be asked to step down had recommended at least 60 students to him for admission.

Panja, MLA, councillor and a state government-nominated member of the college governing body, admitted on Wednesday that she had sent a list of candidates to principal Ashoke Mukhopadhyay but denied insisting on their admission. “I did send some names to the principal but did not pressure him at any stage to admit them violating the merit list,” Panja told Metro.

The Trinamul-dominated governing body at Jaipuria College has accused Mukhopadhyay of mismanagement, failure to conduct admissions smoothly, not filling vacant seats within August 21, the deadline set by Calcutta University, and taking unilateral decisions such as closing the college for an indefinite period after Trinamul students’ wing supporters threatened teachers for opposing their demand to admit nearly 40 students from the bottom of the merit list.

The government on Wednesday showcaused the principal, asking him to explain why he had shut the college for an indefinite period without consulting the governing body, said higher education minister Bratya Basu. The minister had said after the incident: “If such an incident has taken place, I would ask the principal to handle it firmly and keep the college open.”

The governing body referred its resolution to the higher education department, which sent a reply to Mukhopadhyay, asking him not to step down, since a governing body is not empowered to ask a college principal of a state-aided college to step down.

“I am not aware of the letter... as the college was closed today. But I will act according to government orders,” said Mukhopadhyay, who met Calcutta University officials.