The Punjab Assembly on Thursday passed a resolution opposing the Union government’s move to change the status of Punjab University into a Central University.
The House said any decision to change the character of Punjab University won’t be acceptable to the people of Punjab and, therefore, recommended that no change in the nature and character of the university be considered by the Centre. Any proposal in case it is being considered should be dropped with immediate effect, it said.
“Panjab University is our heritage and it is a matter of identity for us, Punjabis. Along with Panjab University, Punjab has full rights on Punjabi speaking areas and waters,” higher education minister Meet Hayer said while speaking on the resolution.
He said an attempt was being made by some vested interests to push the matter for a change in the status of Panjab University into a Central University on one pretext or the other. Be it river waters-sharing, Punjabi-speaking areas of Chandigarh being made the state’s capital, Punjab has been a victim of infringement of state rights, he said.
The resolution said “since its inception, the Panjab University has been continuously and uninterruptedly functioning in the State of Punjab. It was shifted from Lahore, the then capital of Punjab, to Hoshiarpur and then to Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab. More than 175 colleges of Punjab, which are situated in the districts of Fazilka, Ferozpur, Hoshiarpur, Ludhiana, Moga, Sri Muktsar Sahib and SBS Nagar, are affiliated with the Panjab University at present.