The entire Senate-Syndicate system of Panjab University will continue to operate as before after the Union Ministry of Education issued a circular cancelling its earlier notification that sought to alter the university’s structure. The move came days after Union Minister of State Ravneet Singh Bittu apologised and announced the rollback.
The ministry stated that it had considered suggestions received during meetings with various student organisations. “It has now been decided that the earlier order amending the constitution and structure of the Senate and Syndicate will be treated as null and void,” the ministry’s circular said.
SOPU leader Avtar Singh termed the development a major achievement but said the protest would continue until the university officially announces elections for the original 91-member Senate. “This is a big step forward, but our agitation will not stop until elections are declared,” he said.
Ravneet Singh Bittu, in a three-minute video posted on his Facebook account, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah never wanted to impose any decision on Punjab. “I have been kept in the Cabinet to present the real picture of Punjab. Even during the farm laws, they were not aware of the full ground reality. No student needs to protest now; a decision will be taken soon,” Bittu said, also apologising with folded hands in the video.
Shiromani Akali Dal leader and MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal visited the campus and said the AAP government had “surrendered before the Centre”. She alleged that narco-terrorism had increased under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and claimed the state had weakened its control over border areas by expanding the BSF’s jurisdiction.
“Even on BBMB and now on the PU issue, the Mann government has failed to take a firm stand,” she said, adding that the Shiromani Akali Dal fully supports the students’ agitation to restore the Senate and Syndicate.
Meanwhile, Punjabi singers have joined the ongoing protests on the campus. Filmmaker Amitoj Mann, and singers Babbu Maan and Jasbir Jassi reached the university to extend their support. Jassi also performed songs of resistance to encourage the protesters, while Babbu Maan urged other artists to join the movement.
The agitation, led by students and former Senate members, has entered its sixth day. It initially began after PU decided to take affidavits from Senate aspirants, a decision later withdrawn, but the protest continues against the dissolution of the governing bodies. The PU Bachao Morcha has announced a university shutdown on November 10, with the Shiromani Akali Dal extending full support and urging its cadres to participate.
The Centre had earlier issued a notification on October 28 dissolving the Senate and Syndicate, which were constituted under a 1947 Act of the Punjab Assembly. However, on November 5, the government withdrew the notification, though it maintained that it could dissolve the bodies at any time.
AAP MP and two-time PU Senator Malvinder Singh Kang said the Centre had acted unconstitutionally. “The Senate and Syndicate were created through an Act passed by the Punjab Assembly in 1947. The Ministry of Education cannot dissolve or amend them. We will continue to fight to preserve the university’s democratic structure,” Kang said.