Punjab Assembly passes Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at removing governor as chancellor of state universities

Chandigarh, June 20

The Punjab Assembly on Tuesday unanimously passed the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023.

The Bill aims at removing the governor from the post of chancellor of all 11 state universities.

Earlier, the Bill was tabled in the Vidhan Sabha.

The SAD supported the Bill.

Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said if they could not appoint V-Cs they would be letting down the mandate given by the people.

Under the proposed Bill, the chief minister would be the new chancellor of all state universities, a senior government official had earlier said.

The issue is likely to create a new tussle between the government and the governor. Now, the Bill will be presented to the governor for assent.

A row between the government and the governor had erupted when the latter stalled the selections for the post of vice-chancellors of a few universities, citing lapses in the selection procedure.

Following this, the government had started exploring the ways to remove the governor as chancellor of all state universities.