Tag

Rocky Tuseed

Browsing

Rocky Tuseed’s post as DUSU President has been held ineligible in a recent judgement by the Delhi High Court. His candidacy was being questioned for quite some time regarding criminal charges filed against him. Now finally, it seems some concrete rulings are going to be out.

Rocky Tuseed (or Rocky Tuseer according to campaign posters and graffiti) broke a dry spell of five decades by winning the President’s post with a margin of 1590 votes. However, since the very beginning, his records seemed to have grey areas which raised more than a few brows. Tuseed himself trumped several challenges to get elected and hold on to his post.

To begin with, the Delhi University’s Chief Election Officer initially rejected his presidential candidature, following the guidelines of the Lyngdoh committee, citing disciplinary action taken against him during his undergraduate days in Shivaji College.  This was challenged in the High Court where he was backed by political hotshots like P. Chidambaram and Vivek Tankha. As a result, he managed to turn the tables in his favour, and even generated a “sympathy wave” for himself.

An application by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad’s  (ABVP) Rajat Chaudhary, however, unleashed a new maelstrom, claiming that an FIR was lodged against Tuseed for an attempt to murder, which had caused him to remain in custody. The court took immediate action issuing notices to the DUSU President and Delhi University. Tuseed in his defence asserted that his name was unnecessarily dragged as he was politically active. Tuseed and the NSUI claim the matter has ended and it is unnecessarily being dragged now. Now finally when Tuseed has completed more than half of his first tenure as DUSU President, a 37-page final verdict by the Delhi High Court has become a barricade on the NSUI’s road to next DUSU election.

The ruling pointedly states, ““The issue raised in the petition goes to the root (of) whether the petitioner (Tuseed) could at all stand for election to the post of president. The answer to which is no.” As reported by the Indian Express, Tuseed’s counsel said they will appeal against the order before a larger bench.

ABVP members have seen this ruling as a major win as this judgement echoes their allegations against Rocky Tuseed aka “a leader who has hardly contributed to anything in the University”, as one of the ABVP media heads remarked.

With his nomination canceled, Rocky Tuseed would have to step down and resign, which might be a fatal blow NSUI’s reputation. The tarnished image of an NSUI leader so close to the 2018 elections might pave the way for ABVP’s victory

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Bhavika Behal

[email protected]

Shaurya Singh Thapa

[email protected]

The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) will hold a meeting in June with all stakeholders and volunteers to decide ways to beautify the 11 Delhi metro stations that were defaced during the election campaign of 2017.

As a follow-up to a petition filed in the Delhi High Court, the court had instructed the students and candidates of different student political units to work with the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to restore its defaced property across the city, last month.

 In a phone call conversation with the DU Beat correspondent, DUSU President Rocky Tusheed had said, “Responding to the petition filed in the Delhi High Court by Mr. Prashant Manchanda, the DMRC had called a meeting with us. As soon as exams are over, preferably in the first week of June, we will hold a meeting to decide on how to go about with the beautification process.”

 When asked how he planned to beautify the metro stations, he said “We won’t be able to restore it exactly to the original state. But we will beautify it through paintings and decorated tiles and the like. We have recognised 76 sites as of now.”

 When he was asked by this correspondent whether it will be a joint initiative by the ABVP (Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad) and NSUI (National Students’ Union of India) since members of both currently occupy DUSU, he commented, “We have invited volunteers and all respondents of the petition. Since the defacing was done by almost all student units, the responsibility falls upon us to beautify it as well.”

 The National Media Convener of the ABVP, Saket Bahuguna, told DU Beat, “Last year, many metro stations were defaced by different candidates and organisations. All 4 office bearers of DUSU have a responsibility to clean up the mess. So they were called by the court with this regard.”

 Responding to a question on the uneasy nexus between the ABVP and NSUI office bearers within DUSU, Mr. Bahuguna said, “This is not about politics. This is an initiative taken by DUSU. But we extend our complete support to them, because we have a collective responsibility to keep our University and city clean.”

Making a unique recommendation on how this ‘politics of pamphlets and posters’ can be controlled, he remarked, “What can be done to counter this menace is, the University should mandate every college to earmark one ‘wall of democracy’ dedicated to election campaigning. It is virtually impossible for one candidate to reach out to 1.43 lakh students without posters, since the entire process of election campaign for DUSU takes place within a span of 4-5 days.”

NSUI in-charge Ruchi Gupta said her organisation would do away with posters during this year’s election campaign. “We will put up flexes and run a vigorous online campaign. Our campaign will be progressive and issue-based and thus will not need to fall back on posters.”

 Notably, the DMRC has told the court that restoring the identified 76 sites would cost over INR 16 lakh and take six months’ time.
Some of the stations identified by the DMRC are R K Ashram, Kuhat Enclave, Vishwavidyalaya, Rajouri Garden, Vidhan Sabha, Shivaji Park, Civil Lines, and Pitampura.

Feature Image Credits: The Financial Express
Vaibhavi Sharma Pathak
[email protected]

The elected president of DUSU has been barred for now from entering the office. On Thursday, he was told that the university will have to take legal opinion before he can take charge as DUSU president after a criminal case against him came to light. The case dates back to a complaint made on August 6, 2014, by a final-year student of Shivaji College, Bhagat Singh, who alleged that he was beaten with a “wooden stick” by Tuseed and his three associates. The varsity, however, asked the other three office-bearers to collect the keys for their respective offices.

Tuseed, along with his supporters protested at proctor’s office and attempted convincing that the court order does not mention that he should be withheld from taking over as the president.
The proctor’s office maintained they will not act till there are consultations with the university’s legal team. The arguments on framing of charges in the 2014 case against Tuseed will take place on October 16.
The 2014 complaint, filed at the Rajouri Garden police station, alleged that Singh had been “present in his college during the presidential election and some students were conducting a meeting”. According to the complaint, when Singh was leaving his college “he was stopped at the red light outside Shivaji College” by one of Tuseed’s associates.
It added that “minutes after stopping him”, three other men, including Tuseed, “reached the spot and hit him with a wooden stick”. Singh alleged that he had “received multiple injuries on his body and head”. “Police was informed and the man was taken to DDU hospital, where he was discharged after first-aid.
Police also arrived and recorded Singh’s statement. On the basis of Singh’s complaint, a case was registered under sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (causing hurt), 341 (wrongful restraint) and 34 of the IPC,” a senior police officer said. Tuseed was arrested and sent to a 14-day judicial custody in Tihar before he got out on a bail.
Speaking to Indian Express Delhi Police officials said after that day, the complainant has been absent and no further contact has been made with him.
Meanwhile, the Vice-president Kunal Sherawat had assumed the office while the secretary, Mahamedhaa Nagar, and joint secretary, Uma Shankar, were yet to collect office keys from the proctor’s office.

 

Image Credits: DU Beat Archives

 

Sandeep Samal

[email protected]

Be it hiccups like the election officials cancelling his nominations, or reliefs like the High Court allowing him to contest the elections, or moments of ecstasy at finally winning the elections, Rocky Tuseed of the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the newly elected President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) who is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Buddhist Studies, has seen it all in just a week’s time. In an exclusive interview with DU Beat, he discusses his ideas for the betterment of the University.

 

Q: You have been considerably active in politics this past year. From where did you start your venture into the field?

Ans: I joined Shivaji College in 2013; in my first year, I encountered several small problems like the non-functionality of the water-cooler, unavailability of Girls Common Room, etc. On being persuaded by my classmates, I contested and won the election for Executive Committee of DUSU, and that’s how it all started.

 

Q: Now that you are the DUSU President, what are the key areas you would like to personally focus on?

Ans: There are several areas that I am going to work on for the betterment of the students. Alongside working on every issue that has been mentioned in our manifesto, I will try to ensure that University students are entitled to metro passes because many students travel daily from far-off places.

 

Q: Providing affordable accommodation to students was one of the main agendas of NSUI this time. Given the fact that DUSU doesn’t have any power to construct hostels, how do you plan to see this promise fulfilled?

Ans: Although DUSU doesn’t have the authority and budget to construct hostels for students, we can certainly pressurise the University of Delhi (DU) administration to construct more hostels. The University returned nearly Rs 150 crore meant for infrastructure development to the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) despite the fact that it has more than 95 acres of vacant land where it could have constructed new hostels. We will also take up the issue of implementation of the Room Rent Control Act with the Delhi government.

 

Q: Your campaign focused on ensuring transparency in the DUSU budget. How do you plan to turn these words into action?

Ans: We are planning to ensure maximum transparency in our budget allocation. We will try to upload all our bills that are sanctioned by the Union on the DU website if allowed. Or else, every bill will be uploaded on the NSUI website.

 

Q: How do you plan to ensure a violence-free campus wherein our academic spaces remain free from intimidation and political interference?

Ans: We will try to restrict outsiders entry into the University. No type of violence in the shadow of fake nationalism will be allowed under our leadership of the Union.

 

Q: With several hiccups, your campaign must have been hectic. What is that one moment that you recall as being particularly unique in the course of your entire campaign?

Ans: There was this moment of disappointment after my nomination was cancelled by the University authorities. But, as the High Court reinstated my candidature and allowed me to contest the polls, the whole team just cheered and we all shouted in joy. I will cherish that moment of small victory forever.

 

Q: In one line, what would be your motto as the DUSU President for the year 2017-18?

Ans: Ho gayi peer parvat si bighalni chahiye, is baar DU se nayi dhara nikalni chahiye. Ye buniad ab parde ki tarah hilne lage, maksad hamari hai ki ye buniyaad badalni chahiye.

(The University has encouraged new voices and ideas. These very foundations are shaking now due to a new wave of change.)

 

Srivedant Kar

[email protected]

Newly elected Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) President, Rocky Tuseed now faces a setback to his victory run. On Wednesday, the Delhi High Court issued a notice to him after an intervening application held him guilty of concealing personal facts, including his arrest on criminal charges. The application was filed by Suman Chauhan and Jivesh Tiwari, counsel for Rajat Choudhary, the Presidental candidate of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidhya Parishad (ABVP). This September, Tuseed broke a five-year spell when he was elected as the first President of the DUSU from the National Students Union of India (NSUI) since 2012. The controversial candidate won the election with 16,299 votes, beating Choudhary who gained 14,709 votes.

The Allegation

The ABVP has played the Lyngdoh trump card; a recurring move in University elections across the country. The Lyngdoh committee guidelines which were implemented in May 2006 are to be followed in the Students’ Union elections in order to establish accountability, transparency, and discipline. The complainants have claimed that Tuseed hasn’t abided by these guidelines in his run for President.

Firstly, the application claims that Tuseed did not disclose that an FIR had been registered against him in Rajouri Garden on August 6, 2014, under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt) and 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint). It also mentions that he was sent to judicial custody on August 28, 2014, to September 15, 2014.In this respect, the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines state: The candidate shall not have a previous criminal record, that is to say, he should not have been tried and/or convicted of any criminal offence or misdemeanour. The candidate shall also not have been subject to any disciplinary action by the University authorities.

Secondly, the application alleges that Tuseed had been given ‘essential repeat’ in two semesters while pursuing a Masters in Buddhist Studies in the academic session 2016- 2017. The Lyngdoh committee states that “the candidate should in no event have any academic arrears in the year of contesting election”.

The NSUI stance

The NSUI has defended Tuseed by refuting charges in a press release earlier today. It accuses Choudhary of approaching the Delhi High Court on the basis of a false FIR which was registered by the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) government in August 2014 against a group of students, during the 2014 DUSU elections. According to the NSUI, the complainant had withdrawn the case against Tuseed within a month. They’ve also pointed out the fact that the newly elected ABVP DUSU Secretary, Mahameda Nagar is also being investigated in a criminal case filed by the Dean of Faculty of Law.

A bumpy presidential run

This is the third time that Tuseed has been accused of disciplinary charges. When the Delhi University’s Chief Election Officer’s (CEO) office released their list of candidates on 5 September, the NSUI candidate, Tuseed’s name had not been mentioned on “disciplinary grounds”. The NSUI had then sought to campaign for an independent candidate, Alka, until the High Court acquitted him of charges on 9 September, two days before the DUSU elections. This arbitrariness had also dogged his presidential run in the Department of Buddhist Studies last year. The election commission had cleared him to contest the election which he subsequently went on to win.

In the running for this year’s DUSU election, ABVP candidate, Choudhary had also been caught up in controversy. Independent candidate Raja Choudhary had been given police protection following his complaint to the police and the chief election commissioner, in which he alleged that he had been beaten up and threatened by the ABVP candidate. According to Raja, the ABVP candidate had feared that the students would get confused between the two names- Raja Choudhary and Rajat Choudhary, and would mistakenly vote for the other candidate rather than the candidate of their choice.

What now?

Justice Indermeet Kaur has sought a reply from Tuseed on November 15. The High Court has termed the alleged concealment on his part as “very serious”.

Keeping in mind the fact that the Lyngdoh Committee guidelines are more often flouted than not, students wonder whether any strong action will be taken against Tuseed. The same guidelines also mandate that candidates should not be affiliated with any national political party and that the campaigning expenditure per candidate should amount to ?5000. Yet, DUSU elections have been more about contesting parties than individual candidates. The expenditure requirement has also become a joke, so much so that when Tuseed cheekily announced in a discussion on national television that his total expenditure amounted to ?4800, every speaker laughed it off.

With inputs from The Indian Express

Image Credits: Financial Express

Swareena Gurung
[email protected]