Deserted look of Student Center due to dera chief despite the announcement of Election in Panjab University Chandigarh on Monday, August 28 2017. Express Photo by Sahil Walia
With the student elections likely to be held at the Panjab University in the beginning of the next month, the Students For Society (SFS), which had announced to field candidates for all the posts, are still not clear about its presidential candidate. The Panjab University Campus Students’ Council elections are likely to be held on September 7. SFS last year’s presidential candidate Amritpal told Chandigarh Newsline that they were yet to choose a panel as four known faces of the party — Damanpreet, Satwinder, Harman and Harpreet — are among the 68 students against whom FIR was lodged in the PU violence incident in April this year.
Damanpreet, a second-year student of MA English, has been one of the prominent faces of every SFS campaign or protest in the university. Law student Harpreet, Phd student Satwinder and MEd student Harman have also been at the front of every campaign organised by the party.
Amritpal said: “Despite the fact that the university authorities had promised to take the FIR back, till date nothing has been done. Bcause of this, we are finding it hard to decide which names to be included in the panel.”
Alleging that the university authorities singled out their party, Amritpal said: “Be it any protest, the university authorities have always had a biased attitude towards us. In the stone-pelting incident also, the university authorities especially targeted us because of which out of 68 FIRs, 34 were registered against our members. Only because of their (university authorities) attitude, four of our strongest contenders cannot contest now and our party has to introduce new faces. We are going to meet the UT administrator on Wednesday and will submit a memorandum demanding that as promised, the university should take back the FIRs and if its not done, we have planned to protest outside the V-C office.”
In the last year Panjab University elections, Amritpal had fought for the president’s post only and had got 2,494 votes against his opponent Nishatn Kaushal of Panjab University Students’ Union (PUSU). After a surprise performance in the last elections, the party remained in forefront of campus protests throughout the year.
What does the rule say
According to the Lyngdoh committee guidelines, any candidate willing to contest the university elections must not have a previous criminal record. He must not have been tried or convicted of any criminal offense or misdemeanor. The candidate must not have been subject to any disciplinary action by the university authorities. The candidate must have attained the minimum percentage of attendance as prescribed by the university or 75 per cent, whichever is higher. The candidate must have one opportunity to contest for the post of office bearer and two opportunities to contest for the post of an executive member.
