E-Paper
Panjab University postpones senate elections again
The polls were scheduled to start on August 24, but were deferred for two months.
Almost two months after the senate polls of Panjab University were postponed for the first time, the varsity on Thursday decided to defer the elections further.
The polls were scheduled to start on August 24. However, the university postponed the elections for all constituencies of the senate on August 15 for two months in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
A communication in this regard was sent to syndicate members on Wednesday by PU’s officiating registrar Vikram Nayyar. It stated that the vice-chancellor in exercise of powers conferred under regulation 12.2, Chapter II-B, PU calendar volume-1, 2007, has postponed for the time-being the dates of election of all constituencies of senate till further orders.
The announcement comes days after over 20 senate and syndicate members had written to vice-chancellor (V-C) Raj Kumar, urging him to conduct the senate elections at the earliest. The senate is a 91-member apex governing body of the Panjab University. Out of the total members, 36 are nominated by the Vice-President of India, who is also the chancellor of the university.
UT’S ADVICE SOUGHT
In an official communique issued by the University on Thursday, it was announced that after taking cognizance of the Unlock 5 guidelines, the V-C has decided to seek advice from the UT administration regarding the conduct of senate elections. “Further course of action will be decided after the receipt of advice from the UT administration,” the varsity said.
UNNECESSARY DELAY: SENATORS
Meanwhile, several senators have expressed displeasure over the university’s decision.
Senator Ashok Goyal said, “The vice-chancellor is delaying the senate polls when there is no provision for seeking opinion of the Chandigarh administration to hold the elections. When various other elections are being conducted throughout the country, what is the justification to postpone the senate elections?”
“The delay is not justified. The democratic structure of the senate and university should be upheld at any cost,” said senator Rabinder Nath Sharma.
On the other hand, Subhash Sharma, who is from the BJP group, said, “Conducting the polls is an administrative decision. We are ready to follow whatever the UT administration will advise,” he added.
