Candidates are yet to pay for the clean-up exercise undertaken by civic agencies to spruce up the public property left defaced during the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) elections despite a High Court order that had stalled the declaration of results until they clear the mess.
With the court set to hear the case on Monday, a university official said it is a tedious task to make the candidates pay for the clean-up drive.
“The amount is to be recovered from the candidates but they are not ready to pay for the mess that easily,” the official said.
He said a proposal in this regard is required to be passed by the DU Executive Council — the university’s highest-decision making arm — which makes it a long-drawn process. “Delhi University is a government-funded institution and there are certain procedures when it comes to accounts,” he added.
While letting the elections take place on September 27, the High Court had a day earlier disallowed the counting of votes, taking seriousnote of the “muscle and money power” being used in the election process by student leaders.
Earlier this month, it had also disposed of a petition seeking the declaration of results, reiterating that it will permit the counting of votes only after the candidates clean up the public property left defaced with posters, hoardings, and graffiti.
According to university officials, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) have generated bills amounting to ₹5 lakh and ₹1 lakh, respectively.
The amount will have to paid first by the university, which will then recover it from the candidates. An MCD official said they have not set any deadline for the university to pay the bill.
Satyapal Singh, who held the charge of the Chief Election Officer for the polls, did not comment on the issue but admitted that the university’s North and South Campuses were “cleaned by MCD employees, along with the university staff and student volunteers”.
“The cleaning is almost complete. We are awaiting the court verdict in order to decide the future course of action,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and the Congress-backed National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) said their candidates have not been asked to pay any amount.
They also claimed to have contributed to the clean-up exercise.
Ravi Pandey, an NSUI leader, said, “The cleaning process at Delhi University is nearly complete. We now demand that the Delhi University administration promptly submit the required proof to the court during the next hearing, so that the counting could begin without further delay.”
The Left-backed All India Students’ Union (AISA) andStudents’ Federation of India (SFI)hailed the court directions.
Aditi, a member of the Delhi unit of the SFI, blamed the ABVP and the NSUI for the mess and said they are hopeful that the court will restore the “spirit of democracy”.
‘Complications galore’
Another university official said the recovery of the bills from students leader is a process fraught with many complications.
The official said usually student leaders misspell their names on the campaign material to dodge the authorities over the election norms as it makes easier for them to disown the violations by pointing out such discrepancies.
“If we hold a candidate accountable for a poster, he will conveniently say it is not his name or spelling,” the official said, adding that student leaders have evaded the responsibility this way for years.
The official said though the High Court had in 2014 ordered candidates to use only their correct spellings while campaigning, the direction is not being followed by student outfits.
‘Norms never upheld’
N. Sukumar, a political science professor, expressed concern over the use of money power in the polls saying the recommendations of the J.M. Lyngdoh Committee have never been followed.
“A lot of money is pumped into the elections from outside and hundreds of vehicles block city roads during campaigning. This is mostly done by powerful organisations backed by political parties,” he said.
DU Professor Apoorvanand said DUSU has a history of serving as a base for political parties. “Many office-bearers become members of mainstream political parties. This explains why so much money is spent on the elections. Anecdotally, we see that a huge amount of money is spent, students are promised disco parties, and hundreds of supporters are brought in from nearby villages,” he said.
Published – October 21, 2024 12:10 am IST
