The Panjab University Bachao Morcha, which has been agitating for about a month for the restoration of the Senate in Panjab University, announced on Wednesday (26th November) that it would gherao the BJP offices in Chandigarh and across Punjab on 3rd December.
Speaking to the media at the camp protest site, the Morcha leaders said they would continue the protest until the university administration fulfils their demand and issues a schedule for the Senate election, providing a written confirmation of the commitments made during negotiations.
The protest launched by the university students has been taken over by farm union members, politicians and activists, who, despite having no stake in the university’s governance, have joined the protests in the name of supporting the students’ demands.
As per reports, Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has assured the protesting students that the Senate election schedule would be announced soon. Notably, the Senate election has not been organised in the past year. The students, who have been waiting for the election schedule for several days, called for a complete shutdown of the university on Wednesday. They held the protest near the office of the university’s Vice Chancellor.
On 10th November, clashes erupted between the police and the non-student protestors who tore down the university gates as the police force tried to contain the crowd. In no time, tractors, trolleys, union representatives, political workers, and people carrying flags of various organisations not connected with the students or the university entered the campus.
The protest was launched by the university students following the Central government’s decision to restructure the university’s governing bodies, the Senate and the Syndicate. A notification was issued by the Ministry of Education announcing a change in the constitution and composition of the Senate and the Syndicate. However, the decision was subsequently withdrawn by the central government on 7th November after facing backlash. But the students continued their agitation, demanding the announcement of the schedule for the Senate election.
There are two statutory governing bodies of Panjab University- the Senate and the Syndicate. The Senate is the supreme authority, comprising over one hundred members, including elected graduates, professors, student representatives and nominees of the Centre and the state. It is responsible for framing policies, approving budgets, overseeing appointments and making major academic and administrative decisions. The Syndicate, on the other hand, is an executive body, comprising 15 to 20 members. The Senate makes decisions, and the Syndicate implements them. The Senate elections at the university have not been held in the past year.
Political parties hijakced students’ protests
The protests launched by the Panjab University students to raise their legitimate demands have been hijacked by political parties. Several politicians, including leaders of the AAP, the Congress and SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal showed up at the protest site. Farmer union chiefs like Balbir Singh Rajewal, Harinder Lakhowal and Inderpal Bains also arrived. Apart from politicians, father of jailed MP Amritpal Singh and family members of historical radical figures, gangster-turned-activist, Lakha Sidhana, singer Satinder Sartaj and many others also visited the campus. Slogans like “Chandigarh Punjab da” and “Raj Karega Khalsa” were also raised during the protests.
