Double whammy hits NSUI ahead of MSU elections

Friday, August 22, 2008
Double whammy hits NSUI ahead of MSU elections
Thrashing of one of the unions members queers the pitch
Devanshi Joshi. Vadodara/DNA
The rejection of application forms of NSUI (National Students Union of India) candidates for the soon-to-be-held MS University students union election has sparked off furore. What has added to the chaos is the assault on Jigar Shah, a leading member of NSUI, allegedly by ABVP supporters on Thursday. Protesting against the incident, NSUI has demanded the V-C to postpone the polls. University authorities have refused to reveal reasons for rejecting application forms of NSUI candidates today. The candidates had applied for the posts of class representative (CR), faculty general secretary (FGS) and department representative (DR). On getting the news, NSUI student leaders Rutvij Joshi, Rupesh Prajapati, Kunal Patel, Senate member Narendra Rawat and other supporters rushed to the polytechnic faculty to protest against the administrations decision. They alleged that “those involved with election work had a nexus with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and they have done it on purpose".“The forms have been rejected deliberately. ABVP fears losing the election and that's why they are doing this. More than 50 ABVP members, including Vikas Dubey, attacked Jigar Shah and injured him badly. We want V-C to postpone the elections. We also met the commissioner today to urge him to take action against ABVP,” said Kunal Patel.Shah, a student of the department of Sanskrit Mahavidyalay was beaten up by a mob of ABVP members, during peak hours of the college on Thursday. Shah said, “While I was giving a speech in the faculty of science, I was beaten up by a mob of around 15 to 20 ABVP members. When I went to the commerce faculty on the third floor to give another speech, I was kicked and thrashed with pipes and chairs. Even as I ran to the deans office for cover, the mob followed me and assaulted me.”Sayajigunj police arrived at the place and took the situation under control. Shah has lodged a complaint against ABVP members in the Sayajigunj police station.