Cotton students warn of poll boycott if political parties overlook education

GUWAHATI: Students at the prestigious Cotton University here have decided to boycott the Lok Sabha election if education and the rights of indigenous people do not take centre-stage in campaigns by political parties.

With the slogan 'My Nation, My Vote, My Issue', the students on Thursday launched a 48-hour protest against the ruling BJP government.

"There are at least 3,500 voters studying at the institute. We have taken a resolution that none of us is going to vote for parties that don't make education the primary agenda or those that support the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill," Pranjal Kalita, general secretary of the Cotton University Students' Union told TOI.

The student union has been protesting against the bill since it was introduced by the BJP government.

It had banned BJP leaders from entering the university campus, boycotted classes in opposition to the bill and staged protest rallies.

"Despite reiterating our demands for a secure campus and regular employment opportunities, the state government did nothing. If we don't see any steps being taken in addressing issues immediately, then students from the university will have no choice but to abstain from voting," Kalita added.

The students sitting for a protest dharna on Thursday came down heavily on the state government and blamed it for not fulfilling their pending demands.

The students have been demanding for construction of a new girls' hostel, the appointment of an adequate number of professors and provincialization of several departments like the mass communication and biotechnology.

"Instead of concentrating on politics of religion, the government must act on addressing the core issues of the state. The education system has been suffering in the state and the government has been keeping a blind eye to it. It's sad that the chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who was once a student leader, has turned his back on the student community," an agitator said.