ABVP forces Ankiv Baisoya to step down as DUSU president

NEW DELHI: Ankiv Baisoya was forced to step down as DUSU president by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad on Thursday. He was also suspended from the students’ organisation pending completion of enquiry against him for allegedly submitting “fake” academic certificates while taking admission to the MA course in Buddhist Studies.

ABVP claimed Baisoya was asked to resign to “maintain the outfit’s reputation” before Delhi high court heard the case on November 20. It also said Baisoya would not be involved in organisational responsibilities till the enquiry was over. Bharat Khatana, Delhi state secretary of the RSS-affiliated student group, said, “We had requested the university administration to complete the verification process but they kept on delaying it, leading to rumours being spread. We asked Baisoya to resign because the rumours were tarnishing our image and that of DUSU.”

Monica Chaudhary, national media-in-charge, ABVP, added, “We do not say Baisoya is guilty or innocent, but DU had the right to verify his documents and stop the rumours, which it did not.”

Baisoya himself called the matter “a conspiracy” to defame him because “I started to raise questions about admissions in DU”. He said on social media, “I assure you all that I will prove these allegations false.”

After Baisoya won the presidential seat in DUSU in September, NSUI produced a document from Thiruvalluvar University of Tamil Nadu showing the marksheet he had submitted from that institution to gain admission was not genuine. The Buddhist Studies department was asked to investigate the matter, but there only were claims and counterclaims about the enquiry letters having been sent or received. In the event, the two-month period that allowed for a new election under Lyngdoh Committee rules lapsed.

NSUI and AISA called the resignation a “face-saving attempt”. Ruchi Gupta, who oversees NSUI matters for the Congress, declared the decision had come “under pressure and not on principle, given the hearing on November 20 would have certainly disqualified Baisoya”. She demanded fresh elections, saying the two-month stipulation was only advisory, not binding.

Neither the DU administration nor the head of the Buddhist Studies department responded to the resignation.