dusu Archives - Page 7 of 16 - DU Beat - Delhi University's Independent Student Newspaper

Adityanath Agrees to Fund New DU Hostel

By Kartik Chauhan June 12, 2019

University of Delhi is set to get a new hostel, as a proposal by the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) President Shakti Singh is approved by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to allocate funds of INR 48 crore.

According to a press release by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Yogi Adityanath, the Chief Minister (CM) of Uttar Pradesh is set to provide INR 48 crore for a new University of Delhi’s (DU) Hostel.

A proposal by Shakti Singh dated the 10th of June was approved by CM Yogi Adityanath the same day. The proposal addresses the difficulties faced by DU students while looking for student accommodation. The proposal also highlights that only 1-2% of students from Uttar Pradesh get hostel accommodation.

The new hostel requires approximately 3 acres of land to be built. The hostel is said to have 500 seats, and sports facilities over INR 3 crore. The total cost, including overhead charges amounts to INR 48 crore. The hostel is set to be constructed on the Uttar Pradesh government’s land in Delhi.

DUSU President Shakti Singh said on Twitter, “A big thank you to CM Yogi Adityanath Ji. I am highly thankful to you for the assurance of sanction of (INR) 48 Crore for the budget to build hostels for students of Uttar Pradesh in Delhi-NCR. It would be one major step towards accommodation.”

The promise of a new hostel brings relief to students even though the dates of construction and its unveiling remain unclear. Finding cheap accommodation on campus, or in Delhi is not easy for the regular DU student. With rising costs of commercial accomodations (Paying Guests), and limited number of seats in the hostel, students are left with no choice but to opt for private accommodation which usually burns a hole in their pocket. In some cases, students are also subjected to harassment by brokers and landlords.

The move sounds promising, as currently, the University hostels lack various facilities, and the number of seats remains low. The University also has a history of protests related to the hostels, with the recent ones being the Hindu College hostel and the Daulat Ram College hostel rows. This move also leaves one wondering if the implementation of the new hostel would mean a revision in the current hostel rules and guidelines.

Feature Image Credits: Shakti Singh on Twitter

Jaishree Kumar

DUSU Demands Change in Semester Examination Dates for General Elections

By Anushree Joshi April 4, 2019

The ABVP-led DUSU has formally requested the DU Vice Chancellor to not conduct the semester examinations a day prior and after, and on the day of the General Elections.

For the upcoming Lok Sabha elections of 2019, which will be coinciding with the April-May semester exams, the ABVP-led Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) has requested the Vice Chancellor of the University of Delhi, Professor Yogesh Tyagi, to not hold the semester examinations on the same day as that of the elections. They also demanded that the exams should neither be held a day prior, nor a day later than the actual date of casting votes, so as to ensure that the students from other states can exercise their right to vote as well. The external exams, along with the internal assessments, and practicals willl begin from April and are expected to continue till the first week of June.

In a separate letter addressed to the Chief Election Officer (CEO), Mr. Sunil Arora, DUSU requested him to arrange special railway services for the students of major Indian cities for their convenient travel, and to also make the tickets available at compensated rates. They also requested him to issue a directive in the form of an advisory to all the educational institutions in the country, urging them to not conduct the end-semester examinations during the ongoing General Elections.

“As students, a lot of us would be casting our first votes, as citizens of India we really look forward to it. A holiday prior the election and post it, would allow us to act our electoral choices,” says a second-year student of Kamla Nehru College.

These demands were raised, keeping in mind the fundamental right of the youth to vote, and the demand for the special railway services ensures that students from other states can also cast their votes in their respective constituencies. DUSU further appealed to the students to consciously exercise their fundamental right to vote in the upcoming elections.

However, some students have their doubts about this move as well and it, as articulated by another second-year student, “All the services are only available for the major Indian cities. I wouldn’t be able to go back anyway as I come from the remote town of Balangir in Orissa, it is a hectic two-day journey by train.”

The President of DUSU, Shakti Singh, stated in a press release, “The need of the hour is a strengthened democracy which can only be achieved by facilitating the maximum participation of the youths. We shall make every possible endeavour to effectively utilize our resources to meet these ends. We hope to see considerable growth in vote share in these elections.”

Saimon Farooqui, the all-India media and communications manager of NSUI, said, “A certain well thought-out mechanism needs to be established as voting is a layered process and students come from various parts of the country. They should also ensure that studies are not compromised in any way. It is the responsibility of the University of Delhi to ensure that voting process is smooth for students and they are able to exercise their right to vote.”

Image Credits: DU Beat

Antriksha Pathania

DUSU alleges ignorance by the Vice Chancellor

By Avnika Chhikara March 6, 2019

The Delhi University Students Union has publicly declared that the Vice Chancellor has repeatedly avoided meeting them and that they demand an immediate audience to discuss student’s welfare.

On the 5th of March, the ABVP led Delhi University Students Union organized a protest outside the Vice Chancellor’s office to bring to light the apparent absence of the Vice Chancellor and his unwillingness to discuss pertinent concerns of the students. The protest was led by Mr Shakti Singh( DUSU president) along with Ms. Jyoti Choudhary ( Joint Secretary, DUSU). It began outside the VC’s office and a group of close to 100 members of the ABVP marched towards Vishwavidyalaya metro station in an attempt to make their demands heard.

Majority of the protesters including the DUSU president Mr. Shakti Singh were arrested by the police to deescalate the tension and to prevent the crowd from turning violent. They were released shortly after. This protest comes directly after a protest held on the 18th of February expressing similar concerns.

Image credits: ABVP media cell — *Image credits*: ABVP media cell

The DUSU has accused the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Yogesh Tyagi of ignoring student’s issues and refusing to meet the elected members of the Union. This protest comes after repeated attempts made by the union to meet him so the issues could be discussed. Ms. Jyoti Chaudhary informed that she and the President had sent numerous applications in their personal capacity and on behalf of the union over the span of six months requesting to meet the VC. There has allegedly been no response from the VC’s office which has significantly hindered the DUSU’s ability to solve matters of heightened importance for the student community.

Four primary issues were presented during the protest which demanded the immediate attention of the VC. These were-

The introduction of supplementary exams so that graduating students who have failed can reappear for the exam without a period of two months without having to wait for another year.
New hostels should be constructed to satisfy the demand and the process of admission into the hostels should be centralized.
The fees for any post graduate course should be uniform across all colleges. For example- Hindu College and Shaheed Sukhdev College should charge the same fees for common courses.
Initiation of the Vice Chancellor’s scholarship for specially disabled students of Delhi University.

Mr. Shakti Singh said, “The Vice Chancellor should immediately end his dictatorial attitude and the fact that our attempts to discuss these important issues have been handled so carelessly by him is extremely unfortunate. We will continue the fight until and unless we receive an audience of the VC himself.”

Last year, a similar concern was raised by the former president of the DUSU Mr. Rocky Tuseed who towards the end of his term said that the Vice Chancellor actively ignored the DUSU and had taken out no time to discuss the concerns of the students with them.

On the other hand, the Vice President of the DUSU, Mr. Akash Chaudhary (NSUI) did not participate in the protest and claimed that “it is a publicity stunt where the same issues are raised year after year.” He also mentioned that he had met the Vice Chancellor on the 1st of November and had a discussion with him on issues such as “ICC elections in every college, provision of buses for female students, construction of sports facilities and proper grounds in all colleges.”

The President, Mr Singh also mentioned that “Owing to his health conditions, we have given him (VC) a period of 15 days to respond to our concerns. If we receive a negative response, we will be forced to hold a protest on a larger scale as the welfare of students is at stake.”

Image credits: ABVP Media Cell

Pragati Thapa

[email protected]

DUSU Elections 2018

DU Cancels Ankiv Baisoya’s Admission

By Anoushka Sharma November 17, 2018

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
[email protected]

Ankiv Baisoya, DUSU President, Suspended by ABVP

By Anoushka Sharma November 15, 2018

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

News

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

By DU Beat November 9, 2018

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
[email protected]

News

Videos of Misconduct in the DUSU Office

By Prachi Mehra October 24, 2018

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
[email protected]

An Obvious Case of DUSU and the Fake Degrees

By DU Beat October 13, 2018

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