‘Wary of violence, govt drags its feet on campus polls’
The persistent delay in forming statutes, or by-laws, for campus elections has led student organisations to cast a doubt on the state government’s willingness to conduct elections in the next academic year.
It has been four months since the state legislature passed the Maharashtra Public Universities Act 2016, which reintroduced student elections in the state after a gap of over two decades, and a month since the Act was enacted. But the government is yet to put in place the statutes that will provide guidelines to implement various provisions of the Act. Interestingly, the process of statuteformation had begun months before the Act was passed.
Officials from the state higher and technical education ministry said by-laws dealing with university authorities and bodies — such as deans and directors of various departments, senate, academic council, management council and boards of studies — are expected tocome up by next week. However, those dealing with student elections are unlikely any time soon.
This is because, according to a senior official, the government is wary of violence on campus during student polls. He said the government wants to put in place stringent rules, before sounding the election bugle.
“The government is worried that, as in the past, the elections may result in some untoward incident, which may escalate," said the official.
However, state higher education minister Vinod Tawde asserted that he had no intention of postponing the elections. "I am taking all efforts to ensure that elections are conducted this academic year. People in the government were not even in favour of the new Act, but I got it passed. The statutes will come soon," he said.
The official was less optimistic. When asked about the polls next year, he replied, “Let’s see.”
A member of statute-formation committee said, “The princi- pals are still wary that elections might spoil the academic envi ronment of the campus.”
With the issues of criminalisa tion and lack of financial trans parency plaguing student elec tions across the country, the Cen tre, in 2005, constituted a committee, headed by former chief election commissioner JM Lyngdoh. It recommended a number of restrictive measures The government, said the official believes that measures are not “good enough” for the state.
Notwithstanding lack of assur ance from government officials student bodies have started strat egising. “We are awaiting the announcement from the govern ment. Meanwhile, we continue our preparation,” said Rohit Chandode, state secretary o ABVP. Student elections were banned in the state in 1994, after a spate of kidnappings and violence became the trademark of campus politics. The violence reached a tipping point on October 5, 1989 when Owen D'souza, a student at Jitendra Chauhan College in Vile Parle and a district president o NSUI was brutally murdered out side the college.