The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has strongly supported the dharna staged by the students demanding immediate holding of the delayed Senate elections of Panjab University, Chandigarh by the Narendra Modi-led central government. Led by senior AAP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) Harpal Singh Cheema, the AAP MLAs and leaders rallied in front of the Vice-Chancellor’s (V-C) office on Tuesday in support of the dharna, in which Youth Wing Punjab president and MLA Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer along with MLAs Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Kulwant Singh Pandori, Jai Singh Rodi, Amarjit Singh Sandoa, party leader Malvinder Singh Kang, Gagandeep Singh Chadha, Narinder Singh Shergill, Parminder Singh Goldy, Navjot Singh Saini, Garry Birring, Dinesh Chadha, Govinder Mittal, Harsh Jalandhari and Bhupinder Singh Bath.

On the occasion, Harpal Singh Cheema and Kultar Singh Sandhwan announced that on the issue of Panjab University (PU), the Aam Aadmi Party MLAs and Member of Parliament, accompanied by a delegation of student leaders of the university, teaching staff leaders and non-teaching staff leaders will meet vice-president and chancellor of PU, Venkaiah Naidu, for which time has been taken from the vice president. They appealed to other party leaders to unite on this issue and put pressure on the Modi government at the centre.

“Education and health are the most important issues for the Aam Aadmi Party,” said Cheema. He said Delhi’s Kejriwal government spends 26 percent of its budget on education, which has transformed schools and higher education in Delhi. Cheema announced that if the AAP comes to power then health and education would also be primary issues in Punjab. “The dying government colleges and universities of Punjab would be pulled out of the financial and administrative crisis,” he said, adding that the budget of Punjab government for Panjab University, Chandigarh would be doubled.

Harpal Singh Cheema said, “The BJP wants to saffronize the Panjab University at the behest of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which will never be tolerated.” He said the Senate of Panjab University was a democratic body in which every section of the education sector was represented but the present vice-chancellor was not holding Senate elections at the behest of the Modi government to end Punjab’s representation from the university. Disclosing this here, Cheema said in the Senate of Panjab University, 15 young people from Punjab will be elected in the Graduate Constituency and these young people will raise their voice for the rights and demands of the students of Punjab.

AAP delegation to meet vice president on PU issue : Harpal Singh Cheema

The LoP further alleged that the V-C of the university was not holding the Senate elections at the behest of the BJP’s Modi government; even after the orders of the Honorable High Court as he wanted to end the democratic process of the Senate and by nominating his representatives, wants to implement the RSS agenda.

Cheema made it clear that Panjab University is not just an educational institution but the pride and heritage of Punjab. Therefore, all the conspiracies of the Bharatiya Janata Party to usurp this heritage will be foiled, he added. Cheema demanded that early elections for the Senate of Panjab University be held along with restoration of democratic system of the Senate.