AAP delegation meets governor, flags concern over PU overhaul

The AAP delegation, comprising finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, MPs Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Malvinder Singh Kang, and MLA Jagdeep Singh Goldy Kamboj, met the governor at Raj Bhawan here to oppose the central government’s move to overhaul the functioning of the university.

A delegation of Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders met governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday, seeking immediate withdrawal of the Centre’s notification related to the proposed restructuring of the governing bodies of Panjab University, Chandigarh.

Amid political backlash in Punjab and protests on the campus, the restructuring of the senate was put on hold by the Centre through Wednesday’s notification.

The AAP delegation, comprising finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, MPs Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Malvinder Singh Kang, and MLA Jagdeep Singh Goldy Kamboj, met the governor at Raj Bhawan here to oppose the central government’s move to overhaul the functioning of the university. The notification proposes reducing the size of PU’s apex governing body, the senate, and doing away with elections for its executive body, the syndicate.

Amid political backlash in Punjab and protests on the campus, the restructuring of the senate was put on hold by the Centre through Wednesday’s notification.

After meeting the governor, Cheema told the media that the BJP-led central government was trying to destroy the democratic set-up of the PU and take control of the institution.

“The notification would not only affect the PU but would also impact around 200 affiliated colleges in Punjab,” he claimed. The AAP leaders submitted a memorandum to the governor, which stated that the Union ministry of education’s October 28 notification unilaterally dissolved the democratically elected senate and syndicate of Panjab University and reduced the size of the senate to merely 31.

Until now, the senate had 97 members, while the syndicate members were elected from among the senators.

The delegation said this drastic move struck at the very root of institutional autonomy and democratic governance, which Panjab University has proudly upheld for over seven decades. “The subsequent notification, dated November 4, which claims to defer the implementation, is nothing but a tactical pause,” it said. The AAP leaders also urged the governor to direct the Union education ministry to permanently withdraw and declare both the October 28 notification and the November 4 deferment order “null and void.”