The student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Liberation, a prominent leftist party on the campus of Delhi University and a staunch opponent of the party politics of DUSU’s ruling party’s muscle-power and money, All India Students’ Association (AISA) recently released a press release prior to upcoming DUSU elections.
The press release acts as an announcement by its candidates their unambiguous stand on ABVP’s alleged violence during the Ramjas College protests earlier this year in the month of February.
The Ramjas College protests transpired on a fateful Wednesday afternoon when ABVP members arrived within the college premises to disrupt a literary event which invited speakers like Umar Khaled and Shehla Rashid.
Parties like AISA and SFI (The Students’ Federation of India) were in the forefront protesting against ABVP’s alleged hooliganism-turned-violent activities.
Since then, AISA has been campaigning for a freer and safer, non-violent campus which provides a space for uninterrupted discourse of ideas, however controversial it be.
The party claims, if in power it will address issues of
-Affordable accommodation
-Affordable transportation
-Violence free campus
Parul Chauhan, a third year student from Satyawati College (Evening) contesting for the post of president said that “This DUSU election is being fought in the backdrop of Ramjas Incident in which the goons of ABVP assaulted both students and teachers. Instead of working for the benefit of students the ABVP has only perpetuated violence in the campus. They have repeatedly failed in their promises of building hostel and in fact have ended up promoting PG’s.
If AISA is elected to union, we will ensure that the DUSU election post 2017 will be free from all malpractices and even common students like me will have a fair chance of contesting DUSU elections against the money muscle power of ABVP”.
Akash Gupta a student of Law Faculty and former student of Deshbandhu College contesting for the post of Joint Secretary said that “the biggest issue Delhi University is facing right now is that of campus violence which is single handedly perpetuated by ABVP across Delhi University. He recounted how ABVP tried to disrupt seminar on Ambedkar in Deshbandhu college, beat up activists in Shaheed Bhagat Singh and PGDAV college. He also said that the incidences of Violence by ABVP is not only limited to North Campus, but also in almost all colleges of Delhi University, because of which common students live in perpetual terror of ABVP goons.
“We have seen how for the last 40 years the DUSU has been made a launch pad for the ABVP/NSUI goons who invest huge sum of money just to win DUSU elections and launch their political career. Our objective is to reclaim the DUSU from the hands of castiest, feudal, communalist ABVP and give it back to the common students. We aim to make DUSU a platform of struggle instead of a platform for enjoyment where last DUSU office bearers ate tea and snacks of 21 lakhs ” said Kawalpreet Kaur President of DU AISA.
Ankita Dhar Karmakar