Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 12

The Senate/Syndicate elections have again become a hot topic for the Panjab University politics after the Punjab and Haryana High Court asked the authorities to submit details on the election schedule before July 16.

Sources claimed that a schedule had already been prepared by the authorities. However, getting permission from the nearby states for setting up voting booths is a major concern.

A request letter has already been sent to these states and those in fray to attain the power are praying to get over with the election process before the probable third wave.

“The process to make and announce the schedule has already started. We still have a week to get a detailed report from other states and thereafter to submit it in the court. Everything will get completed in a specific frame of time,” said an official.

Row over report

Simultaneously, authorities have been keeping mum over the row over disaffiliating faraway colleges of Punjab. A high-level committee, constituted by the Vice-President of India and the Chancellor, Panjab University, for governance reforms, has recommended that colleges (affiliated with PU) located far away in the state should be affiliated to nearby universities such as Punjabi University or Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

Representatives of the Punjab Government and Panjab University were also among the committee members which reportedly suggested these changes. However, as the recommendations came out in public, political parties have started opposing it.

“The parties are giving it religious colour by saying that committee members want to damage Punjab. However, the government is very much a part of the committee and a majority of the members belonged to the state,” said a member.

Meanwhile, opposing this, a principal of a Punjab-based college said: “There’s no logic in delimiting the number of affiliated colleges. We are not a burden on the university, but we are contributing to its growth. We pay the fee and our children bring laurels to the campus. In the digital era, the students can pay the fee through colleges or private candidates can pay it through online mode. The excuse (affiliating other universities would be beneficial for students) made by members is away from understanding of a common man.”