NEW DELHI: The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students’ Union Election Committee on Thursday issued a statement, taking students of the varsity into confidence about the conduct of the polls. The panel claimed the polls were held “in a free and fair manner”.“We, the members of Election Committee, had conducted the JNUSU elections 2019-20 in a free and fair manner abiding by the JNU constitution and LCR,” the statement read.
Their statement comes after Grievance Redressal Cell (GRC) of the university, allegedly under the pressure from the administration, issued a notice to the EC, seeking its reply on “violations of the guidelines” recommended by the Lyngdoh Committee. A letter dated September 9 had directed all EC members to reply to 10 allegations. The members were asked to prove their innocence with documents.
“The letters were dispatched after office hours late at night with the guards coming inside the hostel late at night to get a receiving of the summon. The GRC hearing that was called had violated clause number 6.8.4 of LCR, which states members of GRC are prohibited from filing complaints; clause number 6.8.5 of LCR which stated parties are not considered notified until they have received a copy of the complaint; 6.8.7 of LCR which states that the hearing should not be held within 24 hours after the receipt of the notice; clause 6.8.9 of LCR which states that all GRC hearings must be open to the public; clause number 6.8.12, the complaining party shall bear the burden of proof and clause number 6.8.10 which states that parties may be accompanied by any other student from which they can receive counsel,” the poll body further said.
They alleged that when letter was being sent, the Dean refused to accept it and made the members wait for more than three hours. “The Dean of students wants the hearing to continue adhering to his old dated letter which violates LCR,” they said. At JNU, the election panel comprises students, not professors. The poll panel, which oversees the election process, had said it was keen to ensure free and fair polls this year by rooting out any possibility of foul play.