Panjab University teachers’ body elections on September 3

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 14

Panjab University Teachers Association (PUTA) has announced its election date for the 2024-25 term. According to information received, the elections are set to be held on September 3. As per the past practice, the PUTA authorities will notify the election schedule with the release of a preliminary list on August 16.

A communication sent by PUTA to its members states that no member shall be eligible to vote if they fail to pay their subscription fee, which is Rs 500 per person, before the last date for finalisation of the voter's list (15 days before the date of election). The schedule of the elections shall be notified by the secretary in consultation with the president, as per the PUTA constitution.

It is pertinent to mention here that last month, 13 PUTA members, from the opposition camp, had written to the secretary, urging him to exempt them from paying the membership fee. They said those members who had paid the membership fee last year, must not be charged this time. These members had alleged that no executive meetings had been held by the PUTA recently. A member also alleged that the election schedule had been decided without convening an executive meeting.

"The body has not convened any meetings in the past few months. It is being run in an undemocratic manner by a few people. The body, which was considered a fine example of a democratic body, is no longer such. Even the election schedule was decided unilaterally and no substantial discussion was held with the other members," said former PUTA president Rajat Sandhir.

PUTA president Amarjit Singh Naura said, "Some people have been issuing misleading statements, bypassing the PUTA president /secretary, amounting to sabotaging. But they have failed miserably, owing to the trust shown by the community, as reflected by the overwhelming response shown by members to pay the subscription fee which makes them eligible to vote (PUTA constitution's Article 8: Eligibility to vote). These people should refrain from trying to divide the community for their petty political gains. We caution the community to be wary of the false narratives being set up through drawing room politics."