Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann: Power must rest with elected, not selected

Chandigarh, July 18

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In a democracy, the power should rest with the elected and not the selected, said CM Bhagwant Mann here today.

Mann was reacting to a report about the Bill seeking to replace the Governor with the Chief Minister as the Chancellor of all state-run universities, being returned to the state government without Presidential assent. The Tribune had carried the report in its columns on Wednesday.

Mann said Punjab was not the only state to have brought such a Bill. “Kerala and West Bengal assemblies too had passed similar Bills… The President had also returned their Bills.”

He added that in a democracy, the elected have the power, not the selected.

Citing the example of Punjabi University, Mann said, “In case we have to choose a VC, the Punjab Government has to send a panel of three candidates to the Governor, but the latter selects the VC of his choice. Then who chooses? Is it the elected or the selected?”

Expressing his displeasure, the CM said whenever the Governor did not want to approve any Bill, he sends it to the President for reference. “After a few months, these are returned without getting her assent,” he rued.

The Tribune had reported on Tuesday that the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023, was returned without the assent of the President to Raj Bhavan last week. The Bill was passed by the Vidhan Sabha in June last year. The Bill was sent to the President in December 2023.