The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) held two meetings after the campaign deadline on Tuesday. The code of conduct comes into effect from 5 pm onwards on the second last day before the election every year.
The authorities did not allow the Students for Society (SFS) to stage their street play ‘Mela Votaan Da’ at the girls’ hostels 3 and 4 after 5 pm.
This year, the student parties collectively decided not to hold rallies a day before the election.
Student bodies have to take permission of the election committee to hold their rallies. “We just did not have time to talk to students this time due to so many holidays. So, we collectively decided not to hold the rallies,” said Harmanjot Singh Gill, senior ABVP leader.
But the National Students Union of India (NSUI) and the Students Organisation of India (SOI) both took out mini-rallies at hostels.
Sources said during the day, the ABVP held a meeting exclusively for day scholars at the Law Bhawan, Sector 37, to ask for votes. Later in the evening, they called a meeting of research scholars from various departments, which triggered condemnation from the SFS.
Mohit Verma, Chandigarh president, ABVP, addressed the scholars and asked them to vote for the “progressive” alliance of the ABVP and the Students Federation of Panjab University (SFPU).
None of the panel members who are contesting the elections were present.
Those who attended the meeting said the speaker called for unity against “anti-nationals who called soldiers rapists”.
One scholar who was present at the meeting said research guides told scholars to attend a meeting that would “enlighten” them on scholarships.
The SFS alleged that even some heads of department were involved in spreading the word and demanded to know why they were discriminated against.
“Why weren’t we allowed to stage our play? We should all stand against the blatant intervention by the RSS in university elections,” said Harman Deep, spokesperson, SFS. The ABVP also asked scholars to fill up forms stating their name, phone, education, email and address.
ABVP leader Gill said it was just a meeting of scholars and there were only 20 to 30 of them. Sources said scholars from departments such as physics, mathematics, economics, Hindi, education and history attended the meeting.
Prof Upinder Sawhney, HoD, department of economics, said, “I have no knowledge of such a meeting and we did not get any such circular at all.”
Chairperson of Department of Hindi, Prof Gurmeet Singh, also said neither he was informed of the meeting nor did he ask any student to attend such a meeting.
