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Panjab University students submit fresh demands, threatens to escalate agitation
On Monday, chaos prevailed not just at the university but across the tricity as over 5,000 protesters, including farmers, mainly from Punjab, thronged the campus to join the protest call of Panjab University Bachao Morcha against the governance body reforms while seeking early senate elections.
Buoyed over the widespread support students got against senate reforms, the protesting group on Tuesday came up with a fresh set of demands, threatening to scale up the agitation if these were not fulfilled.
On Monday, chaos prevailed not just at the university but across the tricity as over 5,000 protesters, including farmers, mainly from Punjab, thronged the campus to join the protest call of Panjab University Bachao Morcha (PUBM) against the governance body reforms while seeking early senate elections.
On Tuesday, students presented a charter of four demands to the university authorities, seeking written assurances and immediate administrative action on key issues. Their primary demand is that the vice-chancellor (V-C) provide a written assurance that no new administrative decisions will be made till the time senate elections are notified by the chancellor. The morcha also wants the newly elected senate to review all major past decisions, with corrective measures taken where necessary.
Another major demand involves the withdrawal of cases filed against 14 students during the previous senate election protest, as well as other pending disciplinary proceedings from earlier demonstrations. The morcha has also demanded the scrapping of the vetting committee constituted to regulate external speakers and the withdrawal of existing standard operating procedures (SOPs) concerning the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC). Students insist that any new SOPs, especially those regarding financial accountability, must be framed with the participation of PUCSC members and student organisations.
Lastly, the morcha has called for strict adherence to the reservation policy in all university recruitments, stating that no appointments should proceed without following due process. The V-C will meet the student leaders on Wednesday.
Student leaders have claimed that if the university administration fails to announce a schedule for senate elections within the next two days, they will escalate their agitation. Talking about the planned actions, NSUI leader Parabjot Singh Gill said “We’ll be boycotting the final examinations, starting November 18, and enforcing a shutdown of the university’s administration block.”
Meanwhile, a day after chaos swept through PU, the sit-in outside the V-C’s office remained passive for most of the day. While much of the day’s activity was carried forward by a dozen-odd kisan union members and nihangs, the evening witnessed a larger turnout of students. Around 35 police personnel were stationed near the protest site to maintain order.
Meanwhile, chief of university security Vikram Singh cautioned against such actions, saying, “This is against the students’ interest if exams are stopped. Security personnel will remain vigilant about this. The political turn of the morcha is detrimental for the university.”
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PUCSC joint secretary withdraws from Morcha
PUCSC joint secretary, Mohit Manderna, who hails from Haryana has officially announced his withdrawal from the Panjab University Bachao Morcha (PUBM). Manderna said the morcha was initially formed to restore the notification for the PU Senate-Syndicate elections, as a student-led, non-political and inclusive effort to revive democratic processes. However, he alleged, some individuals later began promoting religious and regional sentiments, harming the unity among students from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal and other states. Besides, Manderna, similar sentiments are being echoed by several other students, who have condemned any divisive slogans, acts, or behaviour on campus.
