A significant political uproar has been sparked in Punjab following the BJP-led Central government’s controversial decision to dissolve the powerful senate and syndicate of Panjab University. On Saturday, November 1, 2025, major opposition parties – including the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Congress, and the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) – united to denounce the move, calling it a direct assault on the state’s educational landscape.
State Education Minister and prominent AAP leader, Harjot Singh Bains, did not mince words, stating that the Centre’s actions had “trampled on Punjab’s hard-earned autonomy, academic freedom, and Constitutional rights.” He emphatically declared the decision a “blatant assault on the very soul of Punjab.”
Bains further characterized the government’s intervention not as a mere administrative adjustment but as an “act of occupation.” He accused the ruling party of harboring a “dangerous design” to centralize authority, suppress Punjab’s distinctive voice, and systematically erode the foundational principles of federalism enshrined within the Indian Constitution.
Echoing these sentiments, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) formally appealed to India’s Vice-President and Panjab University’s ex-officio Chancellor, C.P. Radhakrishnan, urging him to revoke the controversial notification. In her letter to the Chancellor, Bathinda Lok Sabha MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal implored Radhakrishnan to uphold the university’s democratic character and reinstate elections for its syndicate.
Badal criticized the notification for effectively rendering the university’s syndicate and senate powerless, transforming them into “rubber stamps” for the Central government. She highlighted the profound distress among Punjabis, who view Panjab University, originally established in Lahore in 1882, as an integral part of their shared cultural heritage and academic pride.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring joined the chorus of disapproval, describing the proposal as a blatant “attempt to saffronise a historic institution like Panjab University.” He released a statement asserting that “scrapping the senate and the syndicate of the Panjab University and replacing these with nominated members is a blatantly crude attempt by the BJP and the RSS [Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh] to hijack a historic institution of the country.”