Protest against senate reform: PU students block Gate 2 for five hours
With nearly 200 students staging a sit-in, there was a complete shutdown of movement at this gate. The students, under the banner of Punjab University Bachao Morcha, were protesting against the recently introduced senate reforms.
High drama prevailed as one of the two student groups staging a sit-in outside the Panjab University (PU) vice-chancellor’s office marched towards Gate No 2 and blocked it for nearly five hours on Monday.
With nearly 200 students staging a sit-in, there was a complete shutdown of movement at this gate. The students, under the banner of Punjab University Bachao Morcha, were protesting against the recently introduced senate reforms.
Approximately 50 police personnel and an equal number of university security staff were stationed at the site to monitor the situation. Police officials initially attempted to stop the students from moving toward the gate, but the protest remained peaceful. There was a mutual understanding between the two sides – as long as the march did not extend beyond the campus gate, the police allowed the students to continue their demonstration and cooperated with the temporary gate closure.
Chief security officer Vikram Singh said that university authorities had diverted traffic through other gates during the blockade. “We were hoping the students would move their protest elsewhere in a few hours, so no strict action was taken immediately,” he said.
During the protest at Gate No. 2, Faridkot MP Sarabjit Singh Khalsa met the demonstrators and extended his support. Calling the reforms “undemocratic,” Khalsa said the changes were part of the Centre’s “strategy to take complete control over the university.” He added, “This is just the beginning- PAU might be next.” The MP also urged more students to join the protest, assuring them of his “complete support.”
Earlier in the day, Rohtak MP Deepender Singh Hooda had also visited the protesting students outside the VC’s office. Terming the reforms a “major democratic compromise,” Hooda said he would raise the issue in Parliament. He later met the V-Cr to discuss the same concerns.
Meanwhile, discussions between the university administration and the four elected PUCSC council members over the rollback of the controversial ‘no-protest’ affidavit remained inconclusive by the end of the day. According to sources, the university laid down two conditions for the rollback: first, the petitioner who had challenged the affidavit in court earlier in July, must withdraw his petition ahead of its next hearing on November 11; and second, that both ongoing student protests outside the V-C’s office be called off immediately. The negotiations, however, failed to reach a conclusion. The PUCSC general secretary, who has been on a hunger strike for six days demanding the withdrawal of the affidavit, continued his protest as of Monday evening.
