STUDENTS DEMAND LUSU ELECTIONS
LUCKNOW: Students of Lucknow University have demanded the restoration of student union elections, saying if the demand was not fulfilled, they would resort to fast unto death. At a press conference held here on Monday, they threatened to intensify the movement if the LUSU elections were not restored. They also staged a demonstration at Gate no 1 of the university. Students union polls were last held in LU in 2005 . Dates were announced In 2006 but the elections were not held, as leaders affiliated with the students’ wing of the Samajwadi Party resorted to vandalism during campaigning. The then vice-chancellor RP Singh had ordered sine die closure of the university and thereafter, union elections were never held. In November 2014, the higher education department had started an exercise to remove all hurdles in conducting students’ union elections in universities and degree colleges across the state. The state government had assured some of the best practices followed in other states where students’ union polls were conducted smoothly so that these could be replicated here. The SC has already said that elections will be held as per the Lyngdoh committee recommendation that suggests that universities be first classified into big, medium and small so that the issue of the indirect and direct elections may be settled. Besides, it has also recommended different forms of polls — direct for small universities and indirect for big, depending on the students’ strength. The state government will now have to do the classification and submit its report in court. As of now, the matter of student union poll is sub judice. There is a petition in court, seeking a clarification on the classification of universities into big, medium and small ones.