WHOSE MESS IS THIS, ANYWAY!

The Gol Gumbad (monument) near Nizamuddin, walls of the Moolchand flyover, graffiticovered walls and signboards at North Campus and the markets in South Delhi — all these places have one thing in common: they’ve all been vandalised by DUSU election campaigners. Despite the guidelines issued by the Lyngdoh Committee and Delhi University rules that prevent candidates from littering and vandalising public spaces, the university campuses and places around Delhi are covered in promotional posters, flyers, and graffiti. “It’s saddening that despite the warnings given by the proctor and the Election Commission, these political parties are unaffected,” says Marya Hasan from the No Poster Party, a student initiative that’s cleaning up after the mess created by the candidates. “They’re still using posters, and in many places, they’re misusing the undefined wall of democracy by claiming every other wall as the same. They’re least concerned about what students really want. These parties actually tell us, ‘Humne raat raat bhar lag kar yeh posters lagaye hain aur aapko kya dikkat ho rahi hai ki aap utaar rahe ho?’ These people need to understand that the mess they create will only distance the educated voters from them.”

About the Lyngdoh

Committee: The Lyngdoh Committee was set up by the Ministry of Human Resource Development in 2006, under the directive of the Supreme Court of India, and its purpose was to reform students’ union elections, weeding out money and muscle power from student politics.