Punjab’s AAP govt mulls removing governor as chancellor of varsities

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is planning to remove the governor as the chancellor and make the chief minister the chancellor of all state-run universities.

The move comes amid a confrontation between Governor Banwarilal Purohit and the AAP government.

The government is internally discussing if it should go the way of West Bengal and remove the governor as the chancellor of state-run universities and make Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann the chancellor of all state universities, an Indian Express report said on Thursday (October 20).

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Recently, Governor Purohit asked CM Mann to remove Satbir Singh Gosal as the vice chancellor of Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), dubbing his appointment “totally illegal”.

Last week, the governor refused to approve the AAP government’s pick for the vice chancellor’s post at Faridkot’s Baba Farid University of Health Sciences.

The governor sent back the file with the proposal to appoint noted cardiologist Dr. Gurpreet Singh Wander as VC. Instead, he has asked the state government to send a list of three names for the post.

The Congress hit out at the AAP for allegedly failing to follow rules and due procedures in the appointment of VCs.

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“By now, this government should have realised that administrative appointments, unlike Rajya Sabha nominations, are not made through royal edicts, but under a proper procedure after following rules and regulations,” Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said in a statement.

He also expressed “grave concern” over the growing confrontation between the governor and the chief minister, saying it did not bode well for the state as the two must work in close coordination.

BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh said CM Mann was repeatedly trying to run down the grace and dignity of the governor’s office.

Chugh said it was the second incident within a fortnight in which the chief minister had violated the constitutional provisions to “disgrace” the governor.

The BJP leader said the AAP government was “deliberately challenging” the authority of the governor and thus causing a constitutional breakdown in the state.

In June, the West Bengal Assembly passed a bill to replace then Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar with Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the chancellor of all state-run universities, amid opposition by BJP legislators.

In Tamil Nadu, the DMK government passed a Bill to make the CM the chancellor of state universities but Governor RN Ravi has not signed the Bill.

Last month, the Kerala government passed the University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2022, which would result in curtailing the powers of the Governor in appointing VCs to universities.

The Bill, which envisages bringing some major amendments to the original Act will change the number of members and the structure of the search-cum-selection committee that picks the VC candidates, virtually limiting the upper hand of the Governor in their appointment.

(With agency inputs)