sas Lyngdoh recommendations seem tones tis election season as well -The Hinds CITIES » DELHI NEW DELHI, September 7, 2014 Updated: September 7, 2014 09:59 IST Lyngdoh recommendations seem toothless this election season as well Reliance Life Insurance ~ 1Cr Cover @ Rs450 or 50 Lac @ Rs253 Per month, Policy Term up to 35, yrsreliancelife.com/Life_Insurance ‘Ads by Google VIJETHA S. N. COMMENT - PRINT - TT ‘Share Election time in Delhi University is freebie time. Fresher’s parties, “freed-up” fast food chains and canteens and even liquor being distributed on the sly along with a fair degree of violence is all part of the game. Now, with campaigning in full swing, the same story seems to be repeating itself. Stickers of student organisations are being pasted all over the city and allegations of foul-play and violence are already doing the rounds. ‘The Lyngdoh Committee recommendations that hoped to stop all this has been unsuceessful in this respect and, in fact, has also ended up creating more trouble for those who are really sincere about contesting elections, say the main players of both the Delhi University Students’ Union elections as well as the Jawaharlal Nehru University Union elections. “Printed matter is pasted all over the city, there is nothing being done to curb this menace. The Lyngdoh recommendations, which were seeking to create an equal plane for elections, have failed to fulfil their promise since Delhi University does not come down on those who are breaking the rules,” said Sunny Kumar from the Left-affiliated All India Students’ Association. He added that “money and muscle power” were still being allowed to dominate student polities in DU. The Lyngdoh Committee stipulated among other things that Rs.5,000 is the maximum limit that can be spent by a candidate to contest elections. They prescribed an age limit, a minimum attendance of 75 per cent, an unblemished academic record and no criminal record as eligibility criteria. Also, a candidate who has contested and lost or won is not allowed to contest again. Although Left organisations like the AISA said there was some merit in the recommendations since there was some degree of check on their rivals in DU like the Right-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad and the Congress- affiliated National Students’ Union of India, no one in JNU, the bastion of Left politics, has weleomed Lyngdoh’s recommendations. This is mostly because elections there are fought differently. There are no freebies, no show of muscle power — though there are occasional fights — and printed matter is almost never used. “The early election category is most harmful, and this being a research and postgraduate university, the age limit is also problematic,” said Lenin Kumar from the Democratic Students’ Federation. His n has tied up with the All India Students’ Federation and has made it a part of their election agenda to fight against the Lyngdoh recommendations. The Students’ Federation of India, which was initially rumoured to be allying with the DSF, will be fighting the elections alone. tatxthiml charset 8,430 div% 2056430 4 220uin3AY200p 3% 20m a GNA 200% 38% 20padNgPKIAZONpX%IBYL200ErdEr%3A... 11