“If Presidency College remains a state university, it will be like any other in the state. The Bill tabled in the House is a prototype of Jadavpur University. How can the university achieve excellence as a prototype of another state university,” said Manas Bhuniya, the leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the state Assembly.

Bhuniya said his party will raise the issue when the Bill is discussed in the House.

State Congress working president Pradip Bhattacharjee said there is only one Central university in the state — Visva-Bharati University — and the Presidency College with all its history and grandeur deserves to be a Central university.

“As a Central university, Presidency will have access to more funds and can pursue teaching with emphasis on research,” he said, adding the chief minister should have requested the Prime Minister on the issue.

State BJP president Rahul Sinha said the college should be upgraded as a Central university to save it from the clutches of the CPM.

The Presidency University Bill was tabled in the state Assembly in the second week of December and the matter will be debated in the House along with modifications in the Bill in the forthcoming Assembly session.