West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was on Monday conferred an honorary Doctor of Literature (D. Litt) degree by Kolkata's prestigious St Xavier's University.
This the second university in West Bengal to confer the honorary D. Litt degree to the Chief Minister. Earlier in January 2018 she was conferred the same degree by Calcutta University, with Partha Chatterjee as the then Education Minister.
After receiving the degree from Governor C.V. Ananda Bose at the convocation ceremony of St Xavier's, Banerjee dedicated the honour to the common people, especially the down-trodden sections of the society, in the state.
"I represent the common man. So, I dedicate this honour to the common and more especially backward sections of the society in the state. Such honours really inspire people like us to work more for society.
So, during the last ten years we have been able to set up 10 new colleges in the state. More new colleges will be coming up soon. I have a special love for this university since they have never forgotten me.
They invite me in their occasions including Christmas," she said. The Governor too was all in praise of the chief minister. "The almighty becomes happy when a woman is honoured by the society.
I think that in this programme the honour has been conferred to a richly deserving woman. This honour is not because of her political activities. This honour is because of her contributions in the spheres of literature and art," he said.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister proposed the introduction of an honorary chair dedicated to Nobel Peace Laureate Mother Teresa. "This will send a message to the international community that the country and the state have regards for Mother Teresa," she said.
Seconding her proposal, Ananda Bose said that this will a real tribute to the great soul who has spend her life for the welfare of the downtrodden sections.