The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab is planning to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister (CM) as the chancellor of all state-run universities. This comes amid disagreements between the government and Governor Banwarilal Purohit, including disagreement over some selections the state government made on the post of vice-chancellor.
According to sources, the bill to replace the Governor with the CM may be introduced in the state assembly on Tuesday. The two-day session of the Punjab Assembly began on Monday.
Last year, CM Bhagwant Mann accused Governor Purohit of regularly interfering in the functioning of the government. The issue emerged when Mann was told to remove the Punjab Agricultural University VC Satbir Singh Gosal, who was appointed without following University Grants Commission norms. Gosal’s appointment was made as per law, according to the CM.
In October last year, Purohit refused to approve the AAP government’s pick for the vice-chancellor’s post at Faridkot’s Baba Farid University of Health Sciences and asked the state government to send a list of three names for the post.
The move to replace governors with the CM as the chancellor of state-run universities is not new. Last year, the West Bengal Assembly had passed a bill to replace the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of all state-run universities.
The new bill in Punjab, if passed, would give the state government greater control over the appointment of vice-chancellors and other key positions in state-run universities.
