The academic council of Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law (RGNUL) in Patiala has recommended dropping former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s name from the institution’s title, a proposal that has drawn objection from local Congress MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi.From RGNUL, the name has been recommended to be changed to National Law University. Confirming the development, Vice-Chancellor Prof Jaishankar Singh said the proposal was approved by the academic council and forwarded to the university’s executive council and the Punjab Government for clearance.Sharing with The Tribune a copy of the document proposing the change of name, Patiala MP Gandhi termed the move a “deliberate attempt to polarise voters ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections”.“The recommendation has political overtones as it has come in the run-up to the elections. The Aam Aadmi Party, Shiromani Akali Dal and the BJP are colluding for cheap political gains. The BJP’s ideological fountainhead RSS is systematically attempting to alter history and rename institutions associated with the Congress legacy across the country,” he said. The MP alleged that such actions were an attempt to divert public attention from core issues such as education, health, unemployment, environmental degradation and rising socio-economic challenges affecting all citizens.In November last year, Akal Takht acting Jathedar Giani Kuldeep Singh Gargaj had demanded that the Centre rename the university, arguing that retaining the former Prime Minister’s name was an “insult to the Sikh community as Rajiv Gandhi bore moral responsibility for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots”.The university was established by the Punjab legislature through the Rajiv Gandhi National University of Law, Punjab Act, 2006. The Act envisaged the creation of a law university of national stature in Punjab to serve as a centre of excellence in legal education in the era of globalisation and liberalisation. The university started functioning from its headquarters Mohindra Kothi in Patiala on May 26, 2006, and received approval of the Bar Council of India in July 2006.