SAD seeks immediate election to Panjab University Senate
With the tenure of Panjab University (PU) Senate coming to an end in eight days, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded immediate conduct of elections to the governing body of the university.
SAD leader and former Deputy CM Sukhbir Singh Badal posted on X that his party would protest against any attempt to scrap the institution of Senate as well as undue interference in the internal affairs of the university.
According to sources, some Senators have been in contact with SAD leaders, trying to rake up the issue of delay in the announcement of elections to the Senate.
Sukhbir Badal also alleged that the delay in holding elections was a deep-rooted conspiracy to end the university’s autonomy.
It is important to note that five senators have filed a writ petition in the Punjab and Haryana High Court to get the tenure of the Senate extended for another year and to get the elections notified on time next year. Issuing a notice of motion, the High Court had asked the university to submit a reply in this regard on October 14, but no reply was filed. Now, the PU has been told by the court to file a reply before the next date of hearing, which is October 28, failing which “an appropriate order will be passed”.
Some students associated with political organisations on the university campus have also been holding protests while demanding elections to the Senate. It is learnt that they will hold a demonstration near the Registrar’s office tomorrow.
According to PU calendar, the elections to the Senate are notified 240 days before the elections, but no such notification was issued this time. The Senate is elected for a term of four years. The last elections held in 2021 were delayed by a year due to Covid-19.
Senators had met Jakhar
In August this year, as many as 10 Fellows of the PU Senate had written a letter to BJP leader Sunil Jakhar seeking his intervention to get the tenure of the Senate extended by another year and had also met him to apprise him of the issue. The senators stated that since the body was elected one year late due to Covid-19, its tenure should end in 2025, and not in 2024.
