JNUSU Doesn’t Exist, Student Union Polls Will Be Held As Per Lyngdoh Committee: JNU VC

The JNU VC’s statement comes after the JNUSU announced staging a protest outside the DoS office on January 17, against the delay in holding the JNUSU elections.

Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) vice chancellor Santishree D Pandit has said that the university doesn’t have an officially nominated students union, since the matter is subjudice, news agency PTI reported. The JNU VC further underlined that the varsity administration is committed towards facilitating the students’ union election as per the Lyngdoh committee recommendations.

The statement from the JNU VC comes after the JNUSU on Monday announced to stage a protest outside the Dean of Students (DoS) office over the delay in conducting the students union elections. While the last JNUSU elections were held in 2019, the JNU administration and the students union have been locking horns over the recognition of the JNUSU since 2019. The JNU administration had refused to notify the students union officially citing technicality in the poll results. 

Demanding the immediate release of the JNUSU election notification, the JNUSU has called for a gherao of the DoS office on January 17, 2024. The JNU VC didn’t meet the JNUSU delegation scheduled on January 15, despite repeated appeals. On meeting the other officials including Rector, DoS and Chief Proctor, no concrete time period for election was given to the delegation and the tactic to delay the elections was clear," a JNUSU statement was reported as saying, asking the students to participate in the protest. 

The revocation of the rustication orders and proctorial inquiries against students for staging protests inside the campus, and the addressal of various issues pertaining to campus infrastructure, are also among the demands of the students union. “The students union elections are not halted, we need to follow rules set by the Lyngdoh committee," the JNU VC told PTI. Since the matter is in the court, the varsity doesn’t have an officially recognised students union, she added. The Lyngdoh committee recommendations state that the students union elections should be conducted within six to eight weeks from the commencement of the semester.

Earlier, the JNU administration said that it would conduct the JNUSU elections after the completion of the PhD admissions. However, at present, the PhD admissions have been delayed because of the ongoing UG and PG exams. 

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