On January 15, a new decision was made in the standing Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) row. Delhi University formally declared Shakti Singh as the new DUSU president. In an official statement, the varsity said, “In compliance with the order of the Honorable Delhi High Court dated December 18, 2018, DUSU election committee 2018-19 declared the promotion of Mr Shakti Singh from the vice president of DUSU 2018-19 as President 2018-19.” As this news spread, there were different oppositions to this move by the Delhi University.
The rival parties, NSUI (National Students Union of India) and AISA (All India Students Association), slammed the varsity’s decision and also accused them of delaying the verification of Ankiv Baisoya’s mark-sheets which started this entire incident. They also accused the University administration of deliberately delaying the verification process so that the post of the president could go to Shakti Singh, who was already the vice-president of DUSU. In media reports, there were only allegations and counter-allegations over this issue but no clarity yet.
After the successful DUSU elections which were held in September 2018, all the three major posts were won by the ABVP and one post was attained by NSUI. The presidential candidate of ABVP, Ankiv Baisoya, was officially declared the DUSU’s president. Days after his victory, NSUI student leader Sunny Chillar moved to court to get Baisoya’s election victory cancelled after news reports came in of his submission of a ‘fake’ degree that had been issued by Thriruvalluvar University to Baisoya. Soon after these claims surfaced, a new wave of allegations started to rule in.
After national media showed an interest in this issue and was worth noting, Ankiv Baisoya was made to step down from the post of president by ABVP, just the day after winning the elections. This step was also made to ensure the genuineness of the organization. He had also been suspended till an inquiry was made into his allegations. But the rivalries didn’t waste any time and accused the administration of delaying the issue. “This decision at this belated hour is clearly cynical and cowardly,” said the NSUI in a media statement.
After the issue was moved to Delhi High court, the court ordered Delhi University a deadline to verify Baisoya’s documents. The court on October 30 had granted the university to authenticate the degree and ensured justice to prevail. But it seemed later that the university was less interested in following the orders. “With your blessings and love, I was recently elected DUSU president, but soon after that, NSUI and some other opponents hatched a pre-planned conspiracy against me and started raising questions regarding my admission in DU,” wrote Ankiv Baisoya in a Facebook post.
But it is interesting to note that the resignation of Ankiv Baisoya came after November 12, post the two-month deadline for re-elections as per the Lyngdoh committee recommendations. The Lyngdoh committee recommendations states, “In the event of the office of any major post of office bearer falling vacant within two months of elections, re-elections should be conducted. Otherwise, the vice-president may be promoted to the post of president and joint secretary to the post of secretary.”
In a media statement, Ruchi Gupta, of NSUI, said, “ABVP has waited deliberately two months in an attempt to retain the presidential post. Also, it is interesting to note that ABVP doesn’t want to lose any academic power because of the elections that are near. But DU has promoted Shakti Singh to the post of the president now and there prevails a silence over this issue now.”
Now, the sole question that remains is of the promises made by the ABVP during election rallies and their implementations on the ground. Would those promises be seen practically or are the DUSU elections only meant to create a space for winners in the future politics of India?