Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Patiala, executive council approved name change 3 months ago
Will reverse move on coming to power in 2027, says Punjab LoP Partap Singh Bajwa
The 11-member executive council of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) had approved the dropping of former Prime Minister’s name from the varsity’s title on recommendations of the academic council during its meeting three months ago. The proposal has drawn objection from Patiala Congress MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi.
The executive council consisting of bureaucrats of Punjab Government, Bar council and vice chancellors of other universities and faculty of RGNUL had sent the file recommending the change of name to the state government for taking an appropriate decision in this regard.
The minutes of the meeting, a copy of which is with The Tribune, states, “The executive council considered the recommendations of the academic council in its meeting on November 20, 2025. After due deliberations, the executive council approved the recommendation to change the name of the university to National Law University, Punjab.”
Attempts to take views of Minister of Higher Education Harjot Singh Bains on the issue elicited no response.
Talking to mediapersons on the sidelines of an event in Chandigarh, Governor Gulab Chand Kataria said that he was not aware about any such recommendation and could only comment once the matter reached him.
In a post on X, Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa targeted the ruling Aam Aadmi Party: “Shameful and petty move by @AAPPunjab to erase the legacy of Rajiv Gandhi...who laid the foundation of India’s IT and sacrificed his life for the nation... In 2027, when the Congress forms the government, we will restore the university’s original name with pride.”
Advocate Suvir Sidhu, a member of the executive council, told The Tribune that the proposal to change the name carried no political overtones. He said V-C Prof Jaishanker Singh had placed the agenda before the executive council. “We were of the view that most NLUs are identified either with the city or the state they are located in,” Sidhu said.
