NSUI urges Rahul Gandhi to Revive student union elections

A delegation of elected student leaders from universities across the country led by National Students' Union of India (NSUI) National President Varun Chaudhary today met Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and sought his intervention and support for the immediate resumption of student union elections in all colleges and universities. Gandhi was handed a memorandum, accusing the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) of "systematically dismantling" student unions in order to "silence" progressive voices.

"Since the implementation of the Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservation in the year 2006, there has been an increase in the participation of OBC, Dalit, Adivasi, minority and female students – challenging the status quo. In response, the regime has pressured it to ban elections for fear of strong student leadership. The NSUI claimed that elections in almost all central, state universities and colleges have either been banned or postponed indefinitely.

It accused the government of "using legal gimmicks and administrative interference" to disrupt elections in central universities, including Delhi University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and Hyderabad Central University. "Even in campuses like DU, JNU and HCU, where elections are held, the government uses legal means and administrative intervention to stop and eliminate them. Wherever elections are held, students from disadvantaged backgrounds take the lead and question the government — that is what the BJP wants to stop. The demands made by NSUI highlight the need for immediate restoration of student union elections in all campuses, followed by a Student Union Election Bill to make campus elections compulsory and legally protected.

Terming the National Education Policy (NEP) as "anti-student", the NSUI said that proper implementation of reservation for OBCs, SCs and STs in higher education has not been done. After the meeting, Varun Chaudhary said, "This is a fight for student democracy. Rahul Gandhi listened to us seriously and assured us of full support inside Parliament and outside. Repression of student unions is an attack on the Constitution.