Punjab passes bill to replace governor with CM as chancellor of state varsities

Amid a conflict between the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit, the Punjab Assembly under Chief Minister Mann saw history being made on Tuesday after the Punjab University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023 was unanimously passed, thereby vesting the powers of Vice Chancellors of state universities with the CM. The Punjab Police Amendment Bill was also passed. After the passage of both these bills, the Punjab government will not seek the permission from the Governor to appoint Vice Chancellors and Director General of Police (DGP) in the state.
The Punjab Assembly passing the Punjab University Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, would make the chief minister the chancellor of 12 state-run universities, replacing the governor. Punjab is the fourth state to take this decision after West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has a majority in the state Assembly. The bill will lead to amendments in the Acts governing the 12 state-run universities.
Furthermore, the Punjab Assembly also passed the Punjab Police Amendment Bill 2023, which will remove the Supreme Court-mandated process for appointing the DGP and replace it with a seven-member committee to shortlist eligible officers. The state government will not seek a panel from UPSC and also will not send the panel approval to the Punjab Governor.
This bill had been put forward by the Bhagwant Mann-led government, despite the fact that the validity of the original provision is still pending final adjudication. However, the bill will need to be approved by the Governor before becoming law.
Also, CM Mann launched a scathing attack on Punjab Governor Purohit by calling him a “Velha” (a person who does not do anything or is lazy). Not only this, CM Mann also made personal comments about the beard of Shiromani Akali Dal chief Sukhbir Badal without taking his name. This all happened while passing four amendment ordinances in the Assembly. “We are straight persons. What is in our heart is on our face. Mauka dekh ke daadi nahin kholde (we do not open our beards whenever we see an opportunity),” CM Mann said. Sukhbir Badal is seen with his beard loose or tied on different occasions. An open beard is generally associated with devout Sikhs. Mann’s reference to the opening and tying of the beard was to allege that some leaders turned excessively devout when the need arises. Using gestures to mimic the opening and tying of a beard on his own face, Mann said that some people opened and tied beards depending on whether or not elections were due.
On CM Mann’s loose-tied beard comment, BJP leader R.P. Singh tweeted, “Bhagwant Mannji, it was the most shameful day in the history of Punjab Assembly when a CM mocked kes & dahdaa sahib. We all know that you are a career jester but shouldn’t forget that you are born to Sikh parents, today you have put them to shame. Everyone knows that you don turban under compulsion & don’t have an unshorn beard and hairs but you dared to ridicule dahdaa sahib. I hope Jathedar Akal Takht Sahib will take cognizance of unpardonable act of yours,” he said.
On the Punjab Police Amendment Bill 2023, Harsimrat Kaur Badal said the doublespeak and hypocrisy of AAP in Punjab has been exposed. “The same party that swore by the Supreme Court directions, giving more powers to the Delhi government while opposing the central ordinance negating these powers, has now gone in and amended the Punjab Police Act to allow it to have a puppet of its choice as DGP. This is not only against the DGP selection procedure laid out by the apex court, but smacks of dictatorship and will pave the way for enhanced political vendetta against the opposition.”
Earlier, the Chief Minister said the bill is a replica of West Bengal government`s bill. The cabinet on Monday gave its nod to the bill to be tabled in Assembly on Tuesday. In a purported “tug-of-war” prompted by the “indifference” of the state government in furnishing information sought by Governor Purohit, the Governor last week wrote a letter to CM Mann reminding him of the dereliction of constitutional duty by quoting the relevant portion of orders of the Supreme Court which were passed on the petition of the state government. The Governor reminded the Chief Minister that the information sought through his various letters is “yet to be furnished”.