An Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) delegation met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria on Thursday, urging him to intervene and press for the complete withdrawal of the Centre’s controversial notification proposing major structural changes to Panjab University’s governing bodies — the Senate and the Syndicate. The move, they said, was an attack on the university’s long-standing democratic framework and an attempt to bring the historic institution under central control.
The delegation included senior AAP leaders such as Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, Members of Parliament Malvinder Singh Kang and Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, and MLAs Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy and Devinderjit Singh Laddi Dhos. After the meeting, Cheema addressed the media, accusing the BJP-led central government of trying to “destroy” the democratic ethos of Panjab University and asserting that the move would have wide-reaching consequences for higher education in the state.
“The notification was issued with the clear intent of taking complete control of Panjab University and its affiliated institutions,” Cheema alleged. “By dismantling the existing elected bodies, the Centre is effectively eroding the institution’s autonomy and the voice of Punjab’s people in its functioning.”
The controversy began with a Union Ministry of Education notification dated October 28, which amended the Panjab University Act, 1947. The amendment drastically reduced the size of the Senate — the university’s highest governing body — from 90 members to just 31, while also abolishing elections for the Syndicate and removing the graduate constituency from the Senate. These changes, according to critics, would strip the institution of its representative and participatory governance model.
In a detailed memorandum handed to the Governor, the AAP delegation condemned the notification as “unilateral and undemocratic,” stating that it “strikes at the very root of institutional autonomy and democratic governance that Panjab University has upheld for more than seven decades.” The party also dismissed the Centre’s follow-up notification issued on November 4 — which deferred the implementation of the earlier order — as “nothing but a tactical pause.”
“This so-called deferment keeps the original framework intact,” the memorandum read. “It is an illusion of relief designed to mask the Centre’s intent to impose its will at any time. Such duplicity destroys public trust and reveals a long-term plan to undermine the university’s independence.”
The delegation argued that Panjab University is not merely an educational institution but a symbol of Punjab’s cultural and academic heritage, founded in the wake of Partition under the Panjab University Act, 1947. The Punjab Reorganisation Act of 1966, they pointed out, specifically recognised Punjab’s primary administrative and financial stake in the university, making the Centre’s intervention both unconstitutional and historically unjustified.
AAP leaders also warned that the Centre’s decision could impact nearly 200 affiliated colleges across Punjab, many of which depend on the university for academic and administrative oversight.
The delegation’s memorandum demanded that the Governor use his constitutional authority to ensure the immediate and permanent withdrawal of both the October 28 notification and the November 4 deferment order. It called for the complete restoration of the Senate and Syndicate to their original, democratically elected composition under the provisions of the 1947 and 1966 Acts.
Additionally, the party urged that any future changes to the university’s governance structure be undertaken only after transparent and binding consultations with the Punjab government, elected representatives, faculty, students, and alumni.
The Centre, facing mounting opposition from political parties and student groups, has already “put on hold” the implementation of its October 28 order. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and several other Punjab leaders have demanded not just a pause but a complete rollback. As protests continue, the issue has reignited debates over federalism, state rights, and the creeping centralisation of educational institutions in India.
