Bansal, Jain lock horns over VC sexual harassment case

Aarti Kapur

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 9

Former Union Minister and senior Congress leader Pawan Kumar Bansal and former Member of Parliament and senior BJP leader Satya Pal Jain today locked horns over the sexual harassment case against the Panjab University Vice-Chancellor, Prof Arun Kumar Grover, registered on a complaint of a senior faculty member of the university.

At the last Senate meeting of the current tenure today, Bansal said the VC had “bulldozed” the issue by not allowing the complainant to raise her objections in the House. However, Jain came to the rescue of the VC and gave him a clean chit stating that “I do not agree that he has this sexual weakness”.

It turned out to be the Congress versus the BJP. There was a ruckus in the House when Jain gave a clean chit to the VC and the complainant, also a Senator, walked out of the House objecting to the “judgement” on the issue. Bansal asked the VC not to rush to other items when the report of the Panjab University Committee Against Sexual Harassment (PUCASH) and that of the standing committee had been tabled at the meeting for consideration on which “a discussion should be held”.

Both leaders, who are lawyers, argued on the issue. Bansal, who opened the debate, raised strong objections to the “preparation of the report and collection of evidence by the Dean, Students Welfare, and the warden of the hostel where the incident happened”.

Jain, however, maintained that to prove his innocence, if the VC collected evidence by checking pictures of events, there was nothing wrong in it.

The complainant pointed out “serious flaws” in the report, which was tabled at the meeting. Several questions were raised such as the provision under which the issue was referred to the standing committee when it came under the preview of PUCASH. The complainant submitted five letters in this regard to the authorities, but the committee referred to only one letter. Why were the other four not part of the committee report? How come the confidential letters of the complainant were uploaded on the PU website? The PU Registrar gave an excuse that the VC’s reply on the issue could not be part of the Senate meeting as it was not filed through him. Then how come the letters of the complainant were tabled at the meeting since these were also not sent to the higher authorities through the Registrar?  

The VC adjourned the House after the ruckus on the issue and later requested SS Johal, Chancellor of the Central University of Punjab, to chair the House. Johal constituted a four-member committee, which besides him, has RP Bambah, Tarlochan Singh and Punam Suri as members. The committee held a meeting today.  

A member of the committee said they were trying to resolve the issue amicably, but since the matter was a little complicated, it may take some time.