Student parties’ promise of paperless Delhi University Students’ Union polls fell flat as the varsity struggles to clear mess the recently concluded elections have left behind.
DU Swachhta Abhiyan Oversight Committee on Monday said it will take them a week to sweep the campus clean of electioneering materials – such as posters and pamphlets plastered on the walls and footpaths.
According to D S Rawat, Chief Election Officer for DUSU elections, at least 17 candidates were issued show cause notice over defacement of public property. Candidates’ response will be examined by the grievance cell, set up under the Dean Students’ Welfare Office.
Ahead of the DUSU polls on September 11, most of student parties resolved to reduce use of paper in their campaigns. Some parties like Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) had even put it on their manifestos.
“The university will have to rope in help from the local civic agency as a large part of North Campus doesn’t fall under our jurisdiction,” Bipin Tiwari, co-coordinator of the oversight committee, said. He added that he has requested colleges to launch a cleanliness drive.
The litter from the DUSU elections are everywhere to be seen, right from the Vishwavidyalaya Metro Station to Chhatra Marg – a long stretch of road on whose either side lie varsity initiations. Pamphleteering, which is an obsession in election season, has turned the footpaths into a patchwork of pamphlets. Public notices and in some cases road signage have also not escaped the wrath of aggressive poll campaign.
Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which swept DUSU polls, claims that keeping the campus litter-free should have been a collective responsibility. Before kicking off its campaign, the RSS-affiliated outfit had issued an guidelines for its volunteers, suggesting ways to minimise littering.
“We’ve used less paper this year. Yes, after we won the elections, some of our volunteers flung voting slips in the air,” ABVP Delhi State Secretary Saket Bahuguna said.
