New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party teachers' body, AADTA, has written to Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh requesting to take down the photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other political leaders from the varsity's website stating it violates the UGC's directives to enforce Model Code of Conduct in view of the Lok Sabha elections.
The official websites of several colleges, including the Hansraj College and Non Collegiate Women's Education Board (NCWEB), display photographs of political figures.
Asked for a comment on violation of the UGC's directives, chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar told PTI, 'Following a letter received by the Ministry of Education from the ECI, emphasising the need to adhere to electoral guidelines, the UGC has written to all higher education institutions (HEIs) with a request to strictly follow the guidelines of the ECI as issued from time to time. All HEIs must adhere to the ECI guidelines on the Model Code of Conduct."
There was no immediate response from the Delhi University Vice-Chancellor's office.
The University Grants Commission (UGC) in a letter dated May 1 to the vice-chancellor and principals of different colleges asked them to immediately take down the photos and references of the ministers, politicians and political parties from the institute's website abiding by the Election Commission's order.
Citing the UGC's letter while also terming it as written in a 'reluctant' and 'late mode', the teachers' body wrote, 'We draw your attention towards the violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) even after the UGC letter to the VCs and principals dated May 1, 2024.
"This aforementioned letter was written by the UGC reluctantly in ‘better late than never’ mode as it forwarded the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) directive to enforce the MCC (which came in force on March 16) after the duration of one and half months."
The Academics for Action and Development Teachers' Association (AADTA) said that despite the directive of the UGC, the Delhi University's website still replete with the photographs of the prime minister and ministers, especially under Glimpses, DU Centenary, Viksit Bharat Ambassador Nari Shakti Conclave sections.
"The websites of some colleges are also displaying such photographs violating the MCC. So, we request you to take such photographs and references out in compliance with the MCC without any further delay," the teachers' body added.
The teachers' body further demanded to cancel the 'Run for Viksit Bharat' event while stating the phrase is part of the political branding of the ruling BJP led Central government.
Citing instances from the saffron party's manifesto where the phrase 'Viksit Bharat' has been used as part of its poll campaign, the Academic for Action and Development Delhi Teachers' Association (AADTA) wrote, "This Hindi phrase has been used at least 13 times in English version of the BJP manifesto 2024, thus indicating its political specificity."
"On page 6 of the BJP manifesto, BJP president appeals to ‘vote and support to build Viksit Bharat’. On the next page of the party manifesto, chairperson of the BJP manifesto committee talks about “our Viksit Bharat Campaign” and attributes importance and significance of this manifesto document lies in ‘defining the vision of Viksit Bharat’."
"Further on page 40, BJP manifesto contains, “We will build upon this foundation in the next five years to launch our country on the path to Viksit Bharat by 2047," the letter read.
The teachers' body said that the 'Viksit Bharat Run' is in violation of the ECI directive, which states that "during the election period for partisan coverage of political news and publicity regarding achievements with a view to furthering the prospects of the party in power shall be scrupulously avoided".
"We request you to apply the MCC in case of the scheduled run and cancel it urgently in order to uphold the impartial image of our 100-years old university," it said.
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