Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not confer the Desikottam, Visva-Bharati University's highest award, during its convocation ceremony on Saturday due to paucity of time, an official said.


The announcement has drawn a sharp reaction from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

Sabujkali Sen, officiating vice-chancellor of the university, said there were previous instances when the award had been conferred to international dignitaries not at the annual convocation, but during special convocation programmes organised by the university.

"For the time being, the award ceremony is being deferred due to paucity of time. In the 60s too, the award was not conferred due to paucity of time. It was later conferred to eminent personalities," Sen told newsmen here.
The West Bengal chief minister, however, expressed "unhappiness" over the decision and said she was "shocked".

In April, the Visva-Bharati academic council had proposed to honour Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, author Amitav Ghosh, poet Gulzar, writer Suniti Kumar Pathak, Rabidra Sangeet exponent Dwijen Mukherjee, physicist Ashok Sen and painter Jogen Chowdhury with the 'Desikottam' award. The university executive council had approved the names in May.

Banerjee, said, "I am unhappy. Those who were supposed to get the award were not getting it. Amitabh Bachchan's name was there, Dwijen Mukherjee's name was there. They are above politics. They deserve it (the Desikottam). They should have got it".