The Naveen Patnaik Government’s unwillingness to allow student union polls on campuses for the sixth consecutive year has triggered widespread student protests in the State.
There was no mention of the student union election in the common calendar, for the academic session of 2023-24 for universities and colleges, released by the Higher Education department on Tuesday. This has been the case since 2018.
Members of Chhatra Congress, the student wing of Congress, took out a rally on Thursday protesting the decision. They hurled eggs at the official residence of High Education Minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and burnt his effigies and that of Chief Minister Patnaik.
Before they could forcibly enter the residence, police controlled the situation and took some student Congress members into custody. The Congress announced that it would hold demonstrations in all districts from Friday.
“It is unfortunate that the Biju Janata Dal government is not allowing student polls on campuses. They are afraid of student leaders evolving gradually and participating in healthy political discourse. Mr. Patnaik’s government has all attributes of being a dictatorial regime and they don’t want to be questioned,” said Yashir Nawaz, president of Chhatra Congress.
“There have been allegations of massive corruption in infrastructure development of colleges and universities. If student polls are held, all fund misappropriation would come to the fore,” he said.
City police stopped a group of students from marching towards Mr. Patnaik’s residence. The students said they would continue to seek a response from the Chief Minister for his government’s decision to not hold elections.
The All India Students’ Federation (AISF) has announced a student convention on the issue, in Bhubaneswar on September 16.
“A vibrant democracy and evolution of leadership begin from student union polls. The leaders created from campuses not only represent State Legislative Assembly or Parliament, they also guide the society in different capacities,” said Sanghamitra Jena, president of State unit of AISF.
Before this hiatus, elections used to be scheduled just before Durga Puja vacation. However, no date has been assigned for student polls even as the vacation is set to commence on October 21.
