NEW DELHI: A delegation of students owing allegiance to various organizations in the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday met the dean of students regarding conducting of JNUSU elections for 2023-2024 in accordance with the JNUSU constitution within 6 to 8 weeks of the current academic calendar, which began from August 16, 2023. A written representation to this effect was submitted by them to the dean of students.
“The inordinate delay in the conduct of the JNUSU elections, arbitrary targeting of left and progressive activists, and the interference of the JNU administration in the JNUSU elections are but a few examples of this steadfast and illegal encroachment of the JNU administration upon the democratic ethos of the campus,” said SFI leader Aishe Ghosh.
“Recently, in interviews given to several media outlets, the JNU vice-chancellor claimed that JNUSU elections cannot be held until the entire admission process, including that of Ph.D. admissions, has not been completed. These are patent lies and tactics at dilly-dallying as the same vice-chancellor and administration refused to hold elections in April 2023 even after the completion of the entire admission process,” she added.
DSF, one of the students’ organisations has also initiated a signature campaign which was signed by more than 3,000 students demanding that JNUSU elections be held. “However, the anti-student and anti-democratic JNU administration refused to even respond to the genuine demand of those thousands of students that had signed the petition. We should remind the JNU V-C and the administration that it is their incompetence and inefficiency, besides a symptom of the lack of the political will of its masters, to hold the JNUSU elections, which has led to a situation where admissions are being inordinately delayed and multiple academic calendars are being released for the same academic session,” she said.
“The JNU V-C and her administration cannot punish and deny the student body by arbitrarily withdrawing their right to take part in the democratic election process by citing reasons that stem from the administration’s inefficiency and incompetence,” Ghosh added. In a statement issued after the organisational meet held on September 10, the leaders said, “In the interviews, the JNU V-C also claimed that PhD students constitute 60% and P.G students only 40% of the new students. The vice-chancellor seems to have no idea about the composition of the students of her own university. As per the prospectus released for different programmes in JNU, over 500 students will be admitted to UG programmes, 1,606 will be admitted to PG programmes and 888 students in PhD programmes.”
“The V-C does not even take account of the hundreds of UG students who take admission in JNU every year. The administration’s tactics to delay elections every year has led to a situation where thousands of students of the university were denied the right to take part in the election process even once,” they added
Anagha Pradeep, secretary, DSF said, “We appeal to the student community to stand united against the continuous attack on our democratic rights and spaces. We demand that the office of the dean of students hold a dialogue with the office-bearers of the JNUSU and notify elections for the JNUSU at the earliest in accordance with its constitution (as amended until 20-08-19) and the relevant orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court on the matter.”
Signature campaign
Student body DSF has also initiated a signature campaign which was signed by more than 3000 students demanding that JNUSU elections be held