In a bold move that has reignited political tensions, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Thursday called for the chancellor of state-run universities to be an “elected chief minister” rather than a “selected” figure — a direct reference to the current practice involving the state Governor. Mann’s declaration comes just days after the President Droupadi Murmu returned a Punjab Bill seeking to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the state’s universities’ chancellor, without giving her assent.
 
Taking a pointed jab at Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Mann criticized the Governor’s habit of sending contentious bills to the President without his assent, who then returns them after several months. “If the Governor does not want to give assent to any bill, he sends it to the President, who returns it after a couple of months,” Mann remarked, underscoring his frustration with the current bureaucratic process.
 
The controversy centers around the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the chancellor of state-run universities. Mann, stressing the need for democratic representation, said: “We want that democracy should not be of selected but of elected.”
 
Mann highlighted similar legislative efforts by the governments of West Bengal and Kerala, which also sought to ensure that elected officials, rather than appointed ones, hold significant university positions. He questioned the current process for appointing vice-chancellors, arguing that it should reflect the culture and needs of the state. “One should know the culture. What is Punjabi University’s culture, what is the culture of Punjab Agricultural University and other universities,” Mann asserted.
 
“If we want to appoint the VC of Punjabi University, then we will have to give three names to the Governor. He will select one of them of his choice. Then who chooses? Is it elected or selected,” he asked.
 
The Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, alongside other bills, was passed by the Punjab Assembly in June last year. However, the Governor had deemed the session “patently illegal.” The Supreme Court later upheld the session’s validity, directing the Governor to decide on the bills. Despite this, Governor Purohit reserved the bill, along with the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, for the President's consideration.
 
The Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 aimed to ensure free-to-air telecasts of ‘Gurbani’ from the Golden Temple in Amritsar; while the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023, sought to establish an independent mechanism for selecting the state’s Director General of Police. Both bills, along with the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, were sent to the President and subsequently returned without assent.
 
The ongoing conflict between Mann and Governor Purohit has also seen clashes over the appointment of the vice-chancellor of Ludhiana-based Punjab Agricultural University. Despite these tensions, the Governor did grant assent to the Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, which aims to streamline the functioning of the Punjab Educational Tribunal for government-aided private colleges.
 
Mann will be holding a meeting to discuss the further course of action regarding the Bill which has been returned by the President without her assent.
 
As Mann prepares to hold a meeting to address the returned bill, his call for an “elected” chancellor underscored a broader push for greater democratic control over educational institutions in Punjab.