Chancellor Of State Universities Should Be ‘Elected CM’ Not ‘Selected’: Bhagwant Mann (image-X/BhagwantMann)

On Thursday, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann stressed that the chancellor of state-run universities should be an “elected” chief minister rather than a “selected” one, taking a swipe at State Governor Banwarilal Purohit.

Referring to Purohit, Mann said that if the governor did not want to give assent to any bill, he sent it to the president, who returned the bill after a few months. “It means that the governor sends those bills to the president, which he doesn’t want to pass. The President then sends them back after four-five months… This is our democracy,” remarked Mann.

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The state chief minister also added that the bill was brought to the Vidhan Sabha. Although the assembly passed the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the bill in question was sent to the President.

His remarks come after President Draupadi Murmuru sent back ‘The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023.’ As per the proposed bill, the government sought to replace Purohit as Chancellor of state universities with Chief Minister Mann.

When asked about the bill being sent back by the president, Mann replied that a meeting would be held to discuss the issue.

“We want that democracy should be of the elected and not selected. If we have to appoint the VC of Punjabi University, we will have to propose three names to the governor saab, and he will choose one out of them of his own choice. Then who made the choice in the end – the selected or the elected?” said Mann.

Similar bills, which state that an elected chief minister should be the chancellor, were also brought by the Kerala and West Bengal governments, stated Mann.

Along with the Punjab Universities Law (Amendment) Bill, 2023, three other bills were passed by the state assembly in a two-day session held in June last year. But the governor called the session “patently illegal.”

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In November of that year, the Supreme Court, however, held the session constitutionally valid and directed Purohit to decide on the bills passed by the state assembly. Yet the bill, along with the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were reserved by Purohit for the President’s consideration as per Article 200 of the Constitution.

The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, aimed at ensuring a free-to-air telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, proposed to bring an independent mechanism for the selection and appointment of suitable candidates to the post of state director general of police.