E-Paper
PU senate meet turns ugly as two members come to blows
It all started when vice-chancellor Renu Vig called the meeting to order and stated that this time, the meeting was taking place in a hybrid mode. Responding to this, senator DPS Randhawa said that during the senate meeting in December, called to discuss the regularisation of services of professor Sukhwinder Singh of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology, many senators did not get a chance to speak.
In a huge embarrassment for Panjab University, two senators -- Varinder Singh of the graduates constituency and the dean students welfare (DSW) Jatinder Grover, came to blows during the senate meeting on Saturday. The scuffle, preceded by an ugly exchange of words, was so ugly that Varinder Singh’s turban was also tossed in the air.
It all started when vice-chancellor Renu Vig called the meeting to order and stated that this time, the meeting was taking place in a hybrid mode. Responding to this, senator DPS Randhawa said that during the senate meeting in December, called to discuss the regularisation of services of professor Sukhwinder Singh of the University Institute of Engineering and Technology, many senators did not get a chance to speak.
Jatinder Grover also got up address the V-C, stating that both he and senator Rajat Sandhir were hoping to put forward their points during the said meeting but did not get to do so. He also alleged inaccuracies in the minutes of this meeting.
To this, Varinder Singh interjected, stating that such online meetings have taken place before. But Grover continued to address the V-C.
Singh interjected again which led to verbal spat between the two, wherein some profanities were also exchanged. Within minutes, Singh who was seated in the front row walked to the back row where Grover was seated and punched him in the eye. Grover retaliated and soon there was a full-blown scuffle, even as other senators tried to restrain the two. In the melee, Singh’s turban was tossed in the air.
At this point, the campus security came in and escorted the duo out. Singh was seen walking out with the turban in his hand while Grover eventually developed a swelling under his eye. Senator Shaminder Singh Sandhu also received some injuries on his nose in the scuffle.
While some of the back row senators went out with Grover, the V-C started reading out her statement and listing out the achievements of the university. When senator Honey Thakur asked the V-C to wait, she said those who want to fight can stay out.
She further added that the two involved in the scuffle were not allowed in the hall for one hour, but both didn’t return till the end of the meeting.
Speaking on the incident, Singh said, “It wasn’t a major incident. I had spoken up as the senators were targeting the V-C. Grover has just lost his DSW term and I had said the issue isn’t as big as they were making out to be. So many people got together I’m not even sure if Grover was the one who knocked down my turban.”
Meanwhile Grover said, “We came with no ill-intention and will not pursue the matter further. There were technical issues in the online senate meeting held in December and we were asking that such meetings not be held again.”
Senate meetings to be livestreamed in future
While the agenda was already in place, following the incident in the morning, the agenda to start live streaming of the senate meetings was approved by many senators speaking in favour of it. Former Chandigarh member of parliament Satyapal Jain spoke about how being on video will not only give an opportunity to the PU faculty to watch their representatives in the senate, the senators will also have to be careful and extra-responsible. The technical details were discussed, and it was decided that the meetings be livestreamed from next time. Senator Gurmeet Singh said any extra cost incurred is acceptable as the move would only strengthen democracy.
Paperless agendas
Senator Praveen Goyal also took up the matter of the bulky paper-bound agendas being used in senate meetings. In the current senate meeting, the agendas were released in two volumes, weighing around seven kilos each. It was resolved that from now paper agendas will be made available for those who request it, but soft copies will be prepared. This will also apply to syndicate meetings in the future.
