The Hindu : New Delhi News : Battle lines drawn at Delhi University

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Wednesday, Sep 05, 2007
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New Delhi

Battle lines drawn at Delhi University

Parul Sharma

Most of the students’ outfits yet to release their manifesto

Youth for Equality gets author-motivator Shiv Khera to address students
United Students asking students to rank the different issues related to the University

NEW DELHI: As the date for Delhi University Students’ Union elections nears, all the students’ organisations in the race are getting into battle mode.

While candidates of the different organisations visited various colleges as part of their campaigning on Monday, Youth for Equality roped in author-motivator Shiv Khera to address students on the North Campus. After addressing the students, Mr. Khera formed a human chain with the students and marched some distance with them.

Meanwhile, YFE has also called off its strike after “the administration gave a written assurance that it will follow the model code of conduct of the University in totality,” claimed Amit Kumar Singh, a representative of its Delhi University chapter.

While most other organisations like Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the National Students’ Union of India, the Students’ Federation of India and the Indian National Students’ Organisation will release their manifestoes in a day or two, YFE unveiled its manifesto on Sunday.

Apart from calling for a public debate and mobilising public opinion on all issues like caste-based reservation or inequality and suggesting alternative solutions to the quota problem, YFE has raised a number of campus issues as well.

From starting a helpline for students to checking of “unregulated” fee-hike, from provision of accommodation to all students to setting up a 24 X 7 food plaza on the campus, from making the internal assessment mechanism “more transparent” to making the campus “more gender sensitive” are some of the issues that find mention in the manifesto.

“The present student outfits backed by the main political parties never have a voice of their own. We want a students’ voice, which only the YFE can provide. In strict accordance with the model code of conduct, YFE has adopted such mode of campaigning that will not violate any rule or regulation,” said Amit. United Students has claimed that it might not release a manifesto this year as all the problems that the group had highlighted last year were “still valid”. Its members were conducting a survey asking students to rank the different issues related to the University.

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