‘DU polls can’t be fought with

The Lyngdoh Committee recommendations have left youth wings of several political parties disgruntled, as to them the expenditure limit set by the committee seems ‘ unrealistic’ for fighting the upcoming Dusu polls

The Lyngdoh Committee recommendations have left youth wings of several political parties disgruntled, as to them the expenditure limit set by the committee seems “unrealistic” for fighting the upcoming Dusu polls.

The committee, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner J. M. Lyngdoh, had in 2005 recommended a cap of ` 5,000 on election expenses per candidate besides formulating other rules and regulations for cleaning up campus politics.

In 2006, the Supreme Court had directed that these recommendations be implemented.

Amrish Ranjan Pandey, spokesperson of the Congress-affiliated National Students’ Union of India ( NSUI), said “The limit needs to be revised.” While, echoing his thoughts, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ( ABVP) national secretary Rohit Chahal said, “There are over 50 colleges to campaign in. An amount of ` 5,000 is not sufficient to manage even the petrol expenses, forget running a full- fledged campaign.”

ABVP is the BJP’s stu- dents’ wing. It is not the spending cap alone which is a cause for dissatisfaction as some other recommendations of the Lyngdoh Committee too have come in from criticism from student leaders.

No printed pamphlets are allowed as per the guidelines and parties are supposed to use only handmade posters for campaigning. However, the rule has been flouted in recent elections and also during the campaigning for the upcoming students’ union elections.

“Money cannot be spent, donations can’t be taken, posters have to be handmade. How is this all feasible? Is it possible to have thousands of handmade posters for putting up across 50 colleges,” said a