The Hindu : New Delhi News : JNU polls marred by violence

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 07, 2004

New Delhi

New Delhi

JNU polls marred by violence

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, NOV. 6. Two days of endless wait and much drama later, the new students' union was clearly not the only point of discussion at the Jawaharlal Nehru University campus on Saturday. With the last two nights witnessing not just minor violence but also the presence of men in khakhi for the first time during elections here, the Election Committee came in for a lot of flak from both the student and teaching communities here.

While students were angry over the inordinate delay in the counting and announcement of results, the teaching community seemed more concerned over the entry of violence into JNU politics. Thursday had seen a clash between two groups late in the night over the issue of extension in polling time, with a student being hospitalised with major injuries and many suffering minor injuries.

The teachers' body here is, in fact, planning to request the Vice-Chancellor to call a meeting of all political outfits to warn them about the consequences of such incidents.

"This has never happened on the campus before. It is shameful for us. What makes the JNUSU elections so unique is the fact that they are completely managed by students. Incidents like this will only make the administration feel the need to take some kind of control over the process to avoid such violence. If that happens, then the JNUSU will go the way of other elections too,'' said a JNU faculty member.

While pointing out that this could be avoided only if students realised the importance of keeping peace, teachers pointed out that being a residential campus made it even more important.

While the mismanagement of the election process is being attributed to last-minute changes made in the Election Committee, the high number of invalid votes too had many complaining that defective stamps had led to the disqualification of many votes.

"In cases like this, the administration can take little action as we don't know which version to believe. It may not be a bad idea to have a teacher stationed outside the counting centre during the night to ensure that students don't resort to violence,'' said another staff member.

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