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DUSU Elections 2018

DU Cancels Ankiv Baisoya’s Admission

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A day before Ankiv Baisoya was suspended from ABVP, DU cancelled his admission.

On 14th November 2018, University of Delhi(DU) cancelled the admission of Ankiv Baisoya, former Delhi University Students Union President. The admission was cancelled by the Department of Buddhist Studies where Ankiv was pursuing his master’s degree. The cancellation came a day before Baisoya stepped down from his post and Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) suspended him until further enquiry.

The cancellation of Ankiv’s admission proceeded after the University administration received a notification from Thiruvulluvar University, Vellore confirming that Ankiv’s graduate degree was not genuine. It was fake.

A press conference was organised by National Students Union of India(NSUI) and All India Students Association(AISA) on 16th November 2018 in Indian Youth Congress Hall. The conference was attended by former DUSU Presidents along with members of both NSUI and AISA. Akash Chaudhary, Secretary of DUSU along with former NSUI DUSU office bearers and NSUI State President submitted a memorandum to the Vice-Chancellor regarding the same. The memorandum states that NSUI demands fresh elections, and the two month period as mentioned in the Lyndogh Committee guidelines would be counted from the day Ankiv’s fake degree was brought in light by NSUI. It also states that the two month period is indicative and not binding on DU.

On talking to Sunny Chillar, who was the NSUI candidate for the post of President in DUSU elections, said, “Everything was pre-planned by ABVP. The admission was cancelled on 14th November in the evening itself. ABVP got to know about this and they wanted to save whatever little they could. So, they asked Ankiv to step down, and also suspended him. ABVP already knew about his fake degree, they still took two months to verify the same. Since the graduation degree is fake, he cannot be admitted for post graduation degree and definitely cannot stand for DUSU elections. This also means that his post stands void now.”

Sunny also mentioned that NSUI is pressing the second in line for the post of President in DUSU elections to be made the new DUSU President. The semester exams are over the head and elections take a lot of time. It is also to be kept in mind that the University spends a lot of money in conducting the elections. The court has already issued a no objection and has said that re-election process doesn’t matter because of the delay. NSUI is waiting for the final order of the High Court to be declared on 20th November 2018.

DU Beat spoke to IN Singh, Professor of Department of Buddhist Studies. He said, “The matter has not been discussed with the Course Committee. There wasn’t any committee set up. It is mandatory for the Head of the Department to discuss the matter with the whole department. He is the representative of the Department. The cancellation of admission was discussed with the Admission Committee who cannot take action in this matter. Only the University can cancel the admission of any candidate.”

KTS Sarao, HOD of the Department of Buddhist Studies informed DU Beat that there is a certain procedure followed for cancellation of admission. There is an Admission Committee which consists of five teachers of the department. The HOD is the chairperson of the committee. Sarao further added that,” Akshay Kumar’s( National Secretary of NSUI) fake degree case was discovered in February this year. It has been nine months, the case is still pending. This is because there has to be a meeting to discuss the matter. However, there are a few teachers who are sympathetic to NSUI and keep holding the meeting.” On talking about the cancellation of Ankiv Baisoya’s admission, Sarao informed, “In the case of MA studies, a Department Admission Committee looks after the admission and cancellation of admission to the department. When I discovered Ankiv’s fake degree issue, I immediately sent the relevant documents with relevant photocopies to the Registrar of Thiruvulluvar University to verify the fake degree. However, despite repeated reminders, I got no reply. The website was also not updated. When the media contacted the University directly, they updated the website with proper contact details. I went many e-mails and in fact I messaged the Controller of Examination personally to look into the matter. Later on, I was asked to pay INR 500 to get his degree verified. I found it strange since it was an official process from one government university to another government university. However, I transferred the amount to the University on 25th October 2018 with the covering letter and proper documents. There was still no reply from their side. Whenever I would call, they would not pick my calls or would speak in their regional language. After three weeks, I received the report from Thiruvalluvar University late in the evening on 13th November 2018 stating that Baisoya’s degree was fake. I called for an immediate meeting of the department on 14th November 2018, and Baisoya’s admission was cancelled. His degree was declared fake and not genuine.”

KTS Sarao has also sent the copies of the documents to the Registrar of the University of Delhi and the SHO of Delhi Police.

Monika Chaudhary, National Media Convenor of ABVP also commented on the issue. She said, “Ankiv is no more a member of the party and ABVP has no power to take any legal action in the matter. We do believe that a fraud has been committed and he should be held accountable for that.” On asking why Baisoya’s documents were not verified when he stood for the post of President in the elections, she added, “ABVP follows a verification system. We verified Ankiv’s present documents. He was admitted to the Department of Buddhist Studies at that time. We could not foresee that such a mistake of not verifying his graduation degree could be done by the DU administration.”

Monika also mentioned that according to the DUSU Constitution and the Lyndogh Committee guidelines, if the seat of the President falls vacant, then the Vice President officiates. She said, “Most probably Shakti Singh will officiate the processes now. Re-election is not possible, and in electoral politics, no runner-up is promoted to the post of President.”

DU Beat tried contacting Ankiv Baisoya but he was unavailable to comment.

 

Feature Image Credits: The Print

Anoushka Sharma
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Ankiv Baisoya, DUSU President, Suspended by ABVP

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NSUI claims that ABVP is trying to save face before the high court order comes on 20th November 2018.

On 15th November 2018,  Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) asked Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) President Ankiv Baisoya to step down from his post and also suspended him from all the responsibilities of the organisation till the enquiry is completed. Ankiv Baisoya was involved in a fake degree row since his election as the President.

On Monday, 12th November 2018, Justice C. Hari Shankar granted time till 20th November 2018 to University of Delhi (DU) to verify the authenticity of Ankiv’s degree from Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore. The court on 30th October 2018 had granted the University time till 12th November 2018 to authenticate the degree and inform it as the two-month period within which re-election could be held would expire on 13th November.

However, ABVP, in a press release stated that Ankiv’s resignation was necessary to maintain the genuineness of the student organisation. Bharat Khatana, State Secretary of ABVP said, “ABVP is an organisation which is always committed to student’s cause. This incident is continuously tarnishing the image of Delhi University Students’ Union and is also raising a question on student’s mandate. So we request DU administration to complete the verification process as soon as possible and produce the result in public domain. We also condemn the delay done by DU in the whole process as it led to false information. If Ankiv is found guilty then he must face all the legal actions which are expected in this case. ”

Ankiv Baisoya announced his resignation in a Facebook post.

NSUI accuses that the move by ABVP is clearly a decision under pressure and not principle given that the High Court order is likely to be announced on 20th November. “This is an attempt to save whatever ABVP can. They waited for two months in an attempt to keep the DUSU President seat with ABVP instead of asking Ankiv to step down when the matter came to light. ABVP also didn’t set up an enquiry committee of its own. So this decision, at this belated hour, is clearly cynical and cowardly. NSUI has already clarified that Lyngdoh Committee guidelines are advisory and the two month period is also only indicative and not binding on DU. It is also to be noted that legally two months period will be counted from when Ankiv’s fake degree first came into light by NSUI, and not when ABVP decided to remove him. NSUI demands fresh elections. If the University continues to show itself to be servile to the interests of ABVP, we will pursue this matter in Court. Finally, we are confident that Ankiv will have a long and successful career in the BJP given that he was only following in the footsteps of PM Modi and former HRD Minister Smriti Irani, whose degree is also under a cloud,” said NSUI in a press release. 

NSUI will be holding a Press Conference on 16th November which aims to uncover “how DU and ABVP fixed the whole scene”.

Feature Image Credits: Ankiv Baisoya, Facebook

Anoushka Sharma

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Tamil Nadu Varsity Alleges It Never Got Delhi University’s Fee to Verify Baisoya’s Paper

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DU to send an official to TU to complete the inquiry.

The row over Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) President, Ankiv Baisoya’s certificates started when Nation Students’ Union of India (NSUI) alleged that his certificates were fake. To keep up with the deadline of 12 November, given by the Delhi High Court, Delhi University (DU) will send an official to Thiruvallar University (TU) to look into the matter.

NSUI had claimed that Baisoya’s mark sheet from TU from where he claims to have graduated in 2016 are bogus, and asked for an inquiry about the same.

According to Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, a re-election can only take place if the office of any major office bearer falls vacant within two months of the election results being announced.

TU, however, denies receiving any fee to verify Baisoya’s mark sheet. According to the TU registrar, the process of verification of certificates takes around 15 days. KTS Sarao, HoD Buddhist Studies had on Monday said that he had paid the fee required to obtain a genuineness certificate from TU, but never heard back from them.

TU controller of examinations B Senthil Kumar on Thursday denied having received any fee, despite sending a letter to DU, explaining to them the details.

“What TU is saying is incorrect. I have sent a copy of the payment receipt of NEFT transfer by registered post along with other documents. I have also sent the copies of the receipt and other documents by email twice, both to the registrar and the controller exams. In fact, money has already been received by them on October 25,” Sarao said.

Speaking to the DU Beat correspondent, National Secretary, NSUI, Saimon Farooqui said, “The DU administration, in compliance with ABVP is fooling the students in a similar manner that BJP is fooling the citizens of this country by influencing all government bodies. It is evident that the administration has been trying to slow down the process.” He added that TU has been giving out clarifications for a while now, but no action has been taken. Farooqui went on to say that the removal of Mr. Tuteja was done to pull the plug on the matter and now the administration has stooped so low that it had to lie about the payment of the fees. “Administration 100 percent mila hua hai, ye DU ka bacha bacha keh raha hai, hum nahi!” are the sentiments shared by him (The administration has been favouring ABVP, and all DU students are aware of it, it is not NSUI’s opinion).

Feature Image Credits: The Indian Express

Maumil Mehraj
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Videos of Misconduct in the DUSU Office

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Two videos showing people dancing and playing Ludo, respectively, in the DUSU office have gone viral on social media platforms. Baisoya and ABVP denied knowledge of the incident and of the people in the videos.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has landed in a precarious position another time after Ankiv Baisoya has taken charge of the office as the President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). This time two videos are the cause behind the situation, where one has been doing rounds across social media platforms and the other was originally uploaded to Facebook- on the profile of an individual named ‘ViNii Nam Bardar Abvp’.

As per the videos, the setting has been recognised to be the DUSU Office, presided over by Ankiv Baisoya. The first video shows three men dancing to a song in a regional language in front of the board displaying the DUSU Presidents’ names. The person who shot the video remains unidentified. The second video has people playing the game Ludo in the DUSU Vice-Presidential Office, with conversations amongst the men continuing in Hindi. One person in the video is also shown to tell over a phone conversation to somebody, “Main yahin hoon abhi(I am here only right now)”. Baisoya himself is not present in any of the videos. One of the three men dancing around the Presidential chair has been identified as Vinit Bansal who, according to his profile on Facebook, affiliates himself as a member of the ABVP. The profile also claims him to be a student of BA Programme at Kirori Mal College of the University of Delhi.

As reported by The Quint, members of the ABVP have stated sternly against the knowledge of any such incident while it was ongoing. DU Beat contacted Ankiv Baisoya who went on record to state the following- “Jo log thee us video mein vo mere jankar nahi hai, nahi vo ABVP se belong karte hai (The people who were present in the video are not known to me, nor do they belong to ABVP). They were present in the office during my absence, and I have told my office staff that these things should not happen, and if someone is forcefully trying to do this then tell me, I will take strict actions against them. I am even planning to file a complaint against these people, who forcefully entered my room when I was not present.” When questioned further about the affiliations of Vinit Bansal with ABVP, Baisoya did not respond.

According to the report published in The Quint, there has been a consensus of disapproval by the student leaders in the university, who are sternly against the lack of appropriate conduct and an insult of the decorum expected in the office of the student leaders. Saimon Farooqui, the National Secretary and Media In-Charge of the majority opposition party- National Students’ Union of India, went on record to state, “Ankiv Baisoya and the ABVP have continuously been mocking the whole DUSU Elections by contesting election by means of fake documents, and then slowing down the investigation process through bigotry. NSUI demands action on these three students and on Ankiv Baisoya as well for letting down the prestige of the office.”

 

Feature Image Credits: Hindustan Times

Anushree Joshi
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An Obvious Case of DUSU and the Fake Degrees

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The recent unwrapping of the Ankiv Baisoya’s fake degree case brings with it harsh truths about elections and raises a question on the trustworthiness of nomination credentials.

On the 13th of September 2018, Ankiv Baisoya was appointed as the President of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU). Recently, his college degree has been put to the question, accusing him of providing the authorities with a fake one. He is currently pursuing Masters in the Buddhist Studies program from the Department of Buddhist Studies, University of Delhi (DU). It would’ve been surprising if such a case happened for the first time, but the Rocky Tuseed case had already paved a way for expecting more such instances.

Ankiv Basisoya won with total votes of 20,467, marking a clear difference of 2000 votes from his opponent. The whole faith and belief that people as voters have on their leaders stand in question when one gets to know that their preferred candidate has based himself on false foundations. As a voter, one invests a lot of time and effort during the whole process of elections.

The public’s support towards any leader is based on the promises that they make in their manifestos or other public gatherings. We are offered what the leaders want us to know and that’s about it. These promises, however, turn out mostly to be hollow and fake. During the DUSU Elections, people were being offered movie tickets, free food, etc, The voters, at times get blinded by the misty fog of sweetness and pretentiousness that hides dark and unlawful secrets. All the assurances of a “better tomorrow” or “bright future” that seemed promising and fancy at first, slowly lose its charm.

Of course, in a democratic system (India, being one of the largest democracies in the world), the public is the one who has an upper hand and can elect the leaders of their choice. But when the public itself falls into the ditches of fake promises or indifference, or the chosen leader turns out to be a bad choice, the belief system lays tarnished on the grounds of false pretences. And most importantly, puts a big question mark on the honesty and authenticity of the political party as a whole. In Rocky Tuseed’s case, for example, since his criminal records came forward and he was exposed openly in front of the public. The party that he was representing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) had to bear the effect of his actions in the DUSU Elections of 2018, by winning only one post (that of the Joint Secretary) out of four.

Amidst all the uncertainty surrounding this kind of a condition, the most certain idea that takes birth is – that if such a situation can arise during the election procedure in one of the best universities of the country, why can’t it happen in the national elections? Already, our current Prime Minister is embroiled in controversies surrounding his educational qualifications.

Maxwell’s saying that “A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way” will lie somewhere deep, buried inside the earth if such an event ever unfolds in the national election. Because then, an inevitable question will present itself: What even is the ‘way’?

Image Credits: Ankiv Basoya, Facebook

Akshada Shrotryia

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NSUI Alleges Ankiv Baisoya Submitted Fake Documents for University Admission

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The newly-elected DUSU President, Ankiv Baisoya of ABVP has been accused of furnishing a fake certificate from Thiruvalluvar University for securing admission in MA in Buddhist Studies in Delhi University.

Ankiv ABVP
Ankiv Baisoya, DUSU President 2018-19. Image Credits – Jagran Josh

 

On Tuesday, 18th September 2018, National Students Union of India(NSUI) questioned the admission of the newly elected Delhi University Student’s Union (DUSU) President, Ankiv Bisoya of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). It was alleged that Ankiv submitted fake documents to get admission in the University of Delhi.

Certificate
Letter released by Thiruvalluvar University. Image Credits – NSUI

NSUI released a letter from the Controller of Examinations of Thiruvalluvar University, Vellore. The letter stated that Ankiv’s BA certificate is fake and not genuine. According to NSUI, they received the letter from internal sources. The NSUI said that Baisoya had presented a mark sheet for admission to the MA (Buddhist Studies) course, but Thiruvalluvar University clearly refused they had enrolled a student of such name, and a mark sheet of that serial number was not in their records.

On contacting NSUI regarding the same, Saimon Farooqui, National Secretary of NSUI said, “We got hold of this document through internal sources. The State President of Tamil Nadu NSUI helped us to procure the document. It’s not surprising to see ABVP get into such dirty politics, the same is the case with their parent party (Bhartiya Janta Party-BJP). We will be seeking legal advice and also plan to meet the Delhi University officials regarding the same.” Lairab Neyazi, National Media Co-coordinator of NSUI added that this is a huge matter of concern. He said, “How can he become the DUSU President when the certificates are not authentic? We will file a complaint on this.”

Marksheet
Marksheet released by Thiruvalluvar University. Image credits – NSUI

However, ABVP refutes any such allegation. They term this as propaganda of NSUI. DU Beat contacted Monika Chaudhary, National Media Convener of ABVP. She said, “ NSUI is not able to digest the fact that they have lost the DUSU elections, they are spreading propaganda’s every other day like the Electronic Voting Machine issue and now questioning Ankiv’s degree. Delhi University gave admission to Ankiv Baisoya after due verification of its documents. It’s the process of DU. Even today DU has all the right to verify documents of any student enrolled in university. But it’s not the job of NSUI to provide certificates to any person. DU has all the right to verify documents of not only Ankiv but all DUSU office bearers to stop rumors in future.”

Speaking to DU Beat, Baisoya said, “The allegations are all false. NSUI is finding new ways since they could not achieve success with the EVMs. Also, the letter is dated 7th September 2018 and elections took place on 12th September 2018. Why did NSUI take so much time to disclose the document? I have reservations on the language used in the document. This letter released by them is fake and I would just like to tell everyone that I am the DUSU President.”

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NSUI tried to further legitimise their claim by sharing a photo of the envelope, with the University stamp clearly visible. Image Credits – NSUI

On questioning NSUI as to why the document was released 11 days after procurement from Thiruvalluvar University, they said that they received the letter by post and therefore it took time to disclose the fake degree. They also provided DU Beat with a photograph of the envelope that apparently contained the letter, which has a prominent stamp from the University. 

 

Update:

Earlier the Controller of Thiruvalluvar University clarified promptly on the fake degree of Ankiv Baisoya, followed by the cross-checking by reputed media houses. Saimon Farooqui, National Secretary of the NSUI, commented on the matter saying, “Today, the Registrar of Thiruvalluvar University has again clarified to the deaf and dumb DU Administration about the fake degree of Ankiv Baisoya. Despite of this, the DU Administration is acting in a biased manner on purpose by removing Admission officer and delaying the process by different means to slow down the course of action, hence favouring ABVP.

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Image Credits – NSUI

 

The NSUI came out with the following demands;
1. The Declaration of  Sunny Chhillar as the DUSU President with immediate effect.

2. The Arrest of Ankiv Baisoya for deceiving the students of DU and DU administration by means of misrepresentation and fraud.

DU Beat is attempting to contact ABVP representatives for their comment on the matter, Updates will be posted promptly.

Feature Image Credits: Jagran Josh

Anoushka Sharma

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Plea Challenging DUSU Election Results Moves to High Court

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Three candidates from NSUI filed a plea in the Delhi High Court on how privately procured EVMs were used in the DUSU elections held on 12th September 2018.

On 17th September 2018, three candidates of National Students’ Union of India had moved the High Court challenging the elections on the grounds that voting machines were allegedly tampered with. The candidates were Sunny Chillar, Leena, and Saurabh Yadav who contested for the post of President, Vice President and Joint Secretary respectively in the Delhi University Students Union(DUSU) Elections 2018. The candidates questioned how privately procured Electronic Voting Machines(EVM) were used in the DUSU elections and how data from seven EVMs had allegedly gone missing.

NSUI Protest Sunday
Plea Moved in High Court Challenging Results of DUSU Elections

The counting of votes was stopped on 13th September 2018 for an hour when there were allegations of faulty EVMs. However, following the protests on the same day the counting was suspended. But it resumed in the evening after an elaborate discussion and agreement by the candidates.  A statement was issued by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Delhi. It said that the EVMs used in the DUSU elections were not issued to University of Delhi by them. The State Election Commission also clarified that they did not allot any EVMs to the University. It was said that the University had privately procured the EVMs.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal questioned the Election Commission over the privately sourced EVMs used in the DUSU elections. Taking it to the micro-blogging site Twitter, he tweeted, “From where can you procure EVMs privately? Doesn’t ECI claim that no one can manufacture or buy or sell EVMs privately? Isn’t anyone found in possession of EVMs without EC’s permission guilty of the criminal offence?” NSUI also staged a protest regarding the same on 15th September 2018 in the Arts Faculty, University of Delhi.

Letter (1)
Letter issued by the office of Chief Election Officer, Delhi. Source – Twitter

Responding to this, the High Court judge Justice Siddharth Mridul has directed the University of Delhi to keep secure the EVMs used in the DUSU elections along with paper trial and other documentation.

DU Beat contacted Sunny Chillar, NSUI candidate who stood for the post of President in DUSU elections. He said, “The High Court agreed to what we said and has given a stay on the same. Whatever happened on the day of vote counting was wrong and should not have happened. The choice of the students was different- It was Sunny Chillar from the beginning. We stand against the wrong and the fraud that took place. We will stand for the students and their rights irrespective of the fact that we win or lose in the elections.”

Feature Image Credits: DU Beat

Anoushka Sharma

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Violence breaks out in ZHDC (Evening) on Monday

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Members of ABVP allegedly assaulted students and staff and vandalised property in Zakir Hussain Delhi College  (Evening) on Monday.

On Monday, September 10th, 2018, the last day of campaigning for the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU), members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) allegedly vandalised property at Zakir Hussain Delhi College (Evening) and assaulted the students and staff.

In a letter to the chairman of the Grievance Redressal cell DUSU 2018, condemning the vandalism, Akshay Lakra, President of National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) demanded the cancellation of the nomination of the ABVP Vice Presidential Candidate, Shakti Singh, who had gone to ZHC for campaigning when the violence broke out.

“This is a calculated attempt by ABVP to intimidate students through violence in the run up to the DUSU polls. The ABVP nominee for DUSU’s Vice President’s post entered the campus with a group of outsiders and terrorised the entire college by going on a rampage with blades, hockey sticks, and rocks,” wrote Lakra in the letter.

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Image credits – Indian Express

College principal Masroor Ahmad Baig was quoted by the Indian Express as saying,”I don’t know how it started, but I was shocked to hear the commotion. They vandalised college property, broke chairs and threw flower pots. It was ABVP activists who beat up students; they even hit girls and staff.”

DCP (central) Mandeep Singh Randhawa, said, “Police personnel were present at the spot when the incident took place and they controlled the crowd. No complaint has been received from the college administration.” The violence was condemned by other student outfits contesting the polls and police action was demanded. An anonymous letter to the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Kamla Nagar claims that the main motive behind the incident was to insight and arise violence in the premises in the name of campaigning.

unnamed (1)
Image credits – NSUI

A student of the college claimed Singh was stopped when he tried to enter with a large group of supporters. “He was told that he could take a few supporters for campaigning. They got angry and started breaking college property, and passed lewd comments,” alleged the student, who did not want to be identified. “The whole incident was so scary. I try to avoid college at this time of the year and I’m glad that I took a leave that day,” says a second year student of ZHC who wished to remain anonymous.

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Image credits – NSUI

Indian Express quoted the ABVP national media convenor Monika Chaudhary as, “We have not been able to communicate with Singh. But the ones indulging in violence are not ABVP activists. Singh had gone to campaign in the college… what we know is that fight broke out between two student groups.”

Feature Image Credits: Anonymous

Muskan Sethi

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Tete-a-tete with NSUI’s Presidential Candidate Sunny Chillar

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On Monday, 10th September 2018, DU Beat conducted an interview with the Presidential candidate of the National Students’ Union of India in context to the Delhi University Student Union Elections to be held on the 12th of September 2018.
Here are some excerpts from the interview.
Question: What is your plan for establishing accountability in the Delhi University Students’ Union?
Sunny: I will do my best to get the tag of ‘Institute of Eminence’ to DU so that we become entitled to get INR 1000 crores from which each college will be entitled to get INR 8 crores, and each student will, in turn,
be entitled to INR 75,000. The second thing on the agenda is a subsidised ‘chattra canteen’, a ten-rupee thali. The third thing on the agenda is to bring back the 62,600 laptops that were issued during the four-year programmes. These laptops should be re-issued to the students. Even if we don’t win the elections, we will continue to work
on these issues.
Question: How do you plan to provide a thali for a mere price of INR 10 to the students?
Sunny: Taking example from Amma Canteen of Tamil Nadu, NSUI has decided to provide the students with a INR 10 thali. The Amma Canteen offers more variety in terms of food than we are planning to. The subsidy will come from the INR 1000 crore budget which we hope to get after getting the tag of Institute of Eminence. A thali at such a low price is required because students from different backgrounds study in DU and it is important to provide them with equal opportunities.

Question: What is your take on the issue of the privatisation of higher educational institutions, especially the University of Delhi?
Sunny: The fee structure in DU is not transparent. I am a student pursuing B.A. (Hons.) Sanskrit from Shivaji College. The fee structure of any two colleges of the University is not similar, there is always some disparity.
For example, the fee structure of Shivaji College and Dyal Singh College for the same course is different. These are some indicators that show that the University is moving towards privatisation but we are making efforts to bring transparency in the fee structure.
Question: How inclusive is your party politics in terms of minority representation?
Sunny: We have ensured representation from the Scheduled Caste category in our panel. Leena is contesting from this category for the post of Vice President. In the coming years, we will be focusing on the representation of the minorities from regions like the Northeastern region of the country. We do not wish to make DUSU all about ‘jaat-gujjar’ elections. We wish to create an environment where each and every community is equally represented and enjoy equal rights.
Question: Which trick enabled you to campaign within a mere budget of INR 5000, the maximum that a candidate is allowed to spend on campaigning as per the Lyngdoh Committee?
Sunny: We are getting help from our family, friends, and relatives. The cars which you see on the road are of our friends, supporters, and family. No extra money is spent on all this. It’s within the budget.
Question: Littering in the campus has become a trend in DUSU elections. Manifestos of political parties and pamphlets are seen everywhere, on the roads, in the college campus and also on the walls.
What would you like to say on this issue?

Sunny: The paper used in printing the pamphlets is recyclable paper. We are controlling the wastage of paper. We are not pasting any posters, hoardings because six democracy goals have been assigned by DU and based on them, we are pasting our posters. It’s just the beginning. By next year, we hope to control all the waste created during the elections.
Question: Since the last three years, the None Of The Above (NOTA) option has gained attraction among DU voters. Why do you think this is happening?
Sunny: The main problem is the fight between the Left and the Right. They are not fighting for the issues of the students. Student issues should be taken care of, but when this doesn’t happen, students prefer the NOTA option.
Question: The tiff between Mahamedhaa Nagar and Kunal Sehrawat on the installation of sanitary pad vending machines was in news recently. What is your take on this?
Sunny: The DUSU office works on the collective decision-making process of the four office bearers. Even if a single person denies or objects to a certain decision, everything is re-worked again. It’s like the Parliament where everyone gets an equal say. The initiative of installing machines was mentioned in our manifesto last year. Mahamedhaa took a certain advantage of this. Though she worked hard for the installation, the credit cannot only be showered on her. Kunal Sehrawat has played a very important role in bringing this change. We fulfilled our promises we had made to the students.

Question: Miranda House saw buses outside the college gate today. On enquiring, we got to know that they have been arranged by NSUI for a movie screening. So don’t you think this is unethical when it comes to campaigning?
Sunny: No, I don’t think it’s unethical. Even as kids, we used to go on school picnics. We are not doing it for votes. This is just like a picnic for the students so that they can get a day off from their busy and hectic schedule. Not only this, we have noticed that the students are also interested in going out to have fun.
Question: What are the achievements of the NSUI led DUSU in the year 2017-18?
Sunny: We completed most of the promises we made to the students like installation of sanitary pad vending machines, and access to the library 24*7. We also put a stop to the metro fare hike till 2020. We also
fought for concessional metro passes for students studying in DU. So, yes, it was a fruitful year.
Question: Which element differentiates you from the other contenders for the post of President?
Sunny: I am not comparing myself with others. I am just focusing on trying to improve myself every day. I am not sure whether I will become the President or not, but one thing I am sure of is that I will work for student welfare and improve myself.

Feature Image Credits: The National Students’ Union of India

Anoushka Sharma
[email protected]

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DUSU Elections 2018

Girls’ Colleges in South Campus and Their Exclusion from DUSU Elections

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In the year 1973, the University of Delhi (DU) expanded in order to keep up with the ever-increasing number of students and, therefore, the South Campus was established.

The Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) is a body that represents the concerns of enrolled students in front of the administration and also has the job of organising cultural activities for the colleges it is affiliated with. Every year, the parties like the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India and the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh backed Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad amongst others, contest elections. However, there are many colleges that have their own internal students’ unions and are not affiliated with DUSU at all. In the North Campus, colleges like St. Stephen’s College, Indraprastha College for Women, and Daulat Ram College are a part of that group. Despite not being affiliated with DUSU, they get to witness the best and worst of the elections season, by virtue of being in the campus.

This becomes all the more evident in the South Campus, particularly in girls’ colleges like Jesus and Mary College, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, and Maitreyi College, which do not have any involvement with the DU students’ politics and their first-year students, often, have no idea about these parties.

Lyngdoh Committee guidelines were issued by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2006 in accordance with the direction of the Supreme Court to reform students’ union elections. The section 6.1.7(f) states, “Subject to the autonomy of the universities in respect of the choice of the mode of election, all universities and institute must have an apex student representative body that represents all students, colleges, and departments coming under the particular university.”

In the event that the university is geographically widespread, individual colleges may constitute their own representative bodies, which would further elect representatives for the apex university body. Such colleges feel like their internal students’ body does a much better job at representing the problems of the students because they are a part of that college themselves and the process of elections is less complicated. Ironically, the section 6.3 of the Lyngdoh Committee also states that there must be disassociation of student elections and student representation from political parties. This section has been outrageously neglected as all the DUSU parties are college-level counterparts of national political parties. The implementation of these recommendations is highly questionable when it comes to DU politics. Besides, there are also recommendations like INR 5000 being the maximum expenditure per candidate and there should be no disturbance of academic and non-academic activities of the university.

The election campaigning, in reality, sees all manners of over-budgeting. Be it fancy cars, free meals, or the sea of flyers, these candidates leave no stone unturned to ensure victory. North Campus students often complain of classes being disrupted, harassment by party members, or supporters and other forms of unpleasant incidents during elections, but the South Campus girls’ colleges are far from it.

We, as South Campus students, are saved from all of this trouble. But in the end, the question remains: are we missing out on an integral part of the DU experience?

Feature Image Credits: The Hindu

Maumil Mehraj

[email protected]

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