Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has reiterated his stance that the chancellor of state-run universities should be an elected chief minister, rather than a selected governor. This comes after the President returned the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, without assent, which sought to replace the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor. The chief minister was speaking during a media conference in Chandigarh on Thursday.
Mann emphasised that democracy should be represented by elected officials, not selected ones. He gave examples of West Bengal and Kerala, where similar bills have been passed, and the chief minister is the chancellor of state-run universities.
"We want that democracy should not be of selection but of elected," Mann said, adding, "It means if the governor does not want to pass bills (give his assent), he sends them to the President and then the President returns after four to five months. This is our democracy.”
The current process for appointing vice-chancellors involves the governor selecting from a list of three names, which Mann argues is undemocratic. He stressed the importance of understanding the culture of each university, such as Punjabi University and Punjab Agricultural University.
Mann expressed frustration that the governor had sent the bill to the President, who returned it after a few months. He noted that the Punjab Assembly had passed the bill, along with three others, in June last year. However, the governor had deemed the session "patently illegal," which was later overturned by the Supreme Court.
The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and two other bills were sent to the President for consideration, who returned them without assent. Mann and Governor Banwarilal Purohit have been at odds over various issues, including the appointment of vice-chancellors.
The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed to ensure free-to-air telecast of 'Gurbani' from the Golden Temple, while the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, sought to establish an independent mechanism for selecting and appointing the director general of police. The governor had granted assent to the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, which aimed to streamline the functioning of the Punjab Educational Tribunal."
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