BJP raises Panjab University funding gap, says Centre gave Rs 3,229 crore, state govt just Rs 538 crore

Sharma said that currently, ₹250 crore from the Punjab government is outstanding towards the university, which includes pensions, hostel expenses, and scholarship grants. He said the AAP government must stop politicising the issue and fulfil its financial responsibility by immediately releasing the pending amount.

A state university in Chandigarh, Panjab University, is funded by both central and state governments. The Centre, in a notification issued on October 28, amended the Panjab University Act, 1947, sought to reduce the size of the Senate to 31 members, abolish elections to the Syndicate, and remove the graduate constituency. The notification was rolled back after it was criticised across party lines.

“While the AAP government tried to mislead the public on this issue, in reality, it was the Punjab BJP that conveyed the sentiments of Punjabis to the Centre,” Sharma said, adding that the BJP’s stand has always been that Punjab’s rights and the interests of Panjab University will not be compromised.

Sharma further pointed out that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Education Minister Harjot Singh Bains are ex officio members of the Senate of Panjab University, yet have never attended a single meeting. The two MLAs nominated by the Assembly, too, did not attend meetings, he alleged.

Sharma said that the reform process had begun during the tenure of former vice-chancellor Professor Arun Grover under the Congress government. Pointing out that a committee formed at that time had Punjab government representatives as well, he questioned: “What was the stand of the Punjab government in those meetings? Did they oppose the reforms or support them? For three years, neither was any letter sent to the Centre nor did anyone meet the President to convey any objection.”

‘Democratic structure needed in other universities too’

Sharma said that just as Panjab University has a democratic Senate and Syndicate structure, similar democratic governing bodies must be established in other universities, such as Guru Nanak Dev University in Amritsar, Punjabi University in Patiala, Punjab Agricultural University in Ludhiana, and technical universities to ensure real participation of students.

He said that Mann and Bains should answer why they failed to fulfil their responsibilities for the past three years, and when they would release the pending ₹250 crore.