Chandigarh, July 12, 2021 (Yes Punjab News)
Youth Akali Dal (YAD) and Students Organization of India (SOI) activists today held a protest dharna in the Panjab University demanding immediate withdrawal of the report of the High Level Committee on Governance Reforms along with an assurance that no college affiliated with the varsity in Punjab would be disaffiliated from it. They also demanded immediate elections to the Senate and Syndicate.
The Youth activists also demanded an undertaking from the Vice Chancellor that the territorial jurisdiction of the University would not be rewritten and that the elective and democratic character of the Senate and Syndicate would not be tinkered with.
They also pointed out that PU was not a central varsity and that the charge of Chancellor of the varsity was given to the Vice President as an interim order. They said this charge should be transferred back to the Punjab Governor.
The activists held a huge dharna in front of the vice chancellor’s office holding placards of Save Panjab University and raised slogans ‘Punjab naal dhakka band karo’ and ‘Sanghi VC murdabad’.
They were led by YAD President Parambans Singh Romana, SOI patron Bhim Waraich, SOI President Robin Brar, Vicky Middukhera and PU Students Council President Chetan Chaudhary. The dharna culminated after a delegation of senior officials of the University including Dean, University Instructions Dr V R Sinha and Dean, Student Welfare Dr S K Tomar received a memorandum from the protesting youth.
Addressing the students, Mr Parambans Romana said the vice chancellor was working as per the BJP-RSS agenda to change the curriculum after making the Senate and Syndicate redundant as per the ideology of RSS to influence the minds of youth.
He appealed to Punjabis to unite to defeat this diabolic conspiracy even as he questioned why the Congress party and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were silent on an issue which concerned the very identity of Punjab. He also announced that Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal would lead the fight to ensure the character of the University was not changed to suit the interests of the RSS.
Mr Romana urged all opinion makers including writers and singers besides NRIs to unite to ensure the history of the ‘pirs’ and ‘gurus’ of Punjab was not rewritten by the ‘nikkardhari’ brigade. “We cannot afford to be silent”, he said adding Punjabis would not forgive anyone who did not rise up to right this wrong against the entire community.
Stating that VC Dr Raj Kumar was working as per a plan, the YAD chief said after seeking the blessings of the RSS immediately after his appointment, the VC installed RSS workers on all top posts in the varsity.
He said since the Senate and Syndicate were coming in the way of changing the academic curriculum, elections to both bodies were not held after the end of their terms. Mr Romana said simultaneously an eleven member High Level Committee was constituted to secure recommendations as per the dictates of the RSS lobby.
The YAD President said the high level committee, which did not include a single member from the Senate or the Syndicate, had gone on to recommend limiting the territorial jurisdiction of the University to the municipal limits of Mohali.
“This means the University wants to disaffiliate 200 Colleges situated in Muktsar, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Faridkot, Hoshiarpur and Moga districts”. He said the Committee had also recommended replacing elected bodies of the Senate and Syndicate with dummy ones.
“Under the new proposal the Senate, which is a fifteen member body of members elected from the registered graduates’ constituency, will be whittled down to four members all of whom will be nominated by the VC.
Similarly in case of the Syndicate, which is the highest decision making body of the University, the new proposals aim to reduce the strength from 18 to 13 including ten nominated members and three ex-officio members. Presently all 18 members of the Senate are elected”.
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