PU polls 2023: Student bodies engage in slogan war
CYSS, the student wing of the Aam Aadmi Party, is re-entering the fray after bagging the president’s post last year
With poll activity picking up on the Panjab University campus, supporters of Students for Society and PSU-Lalkaar on Tuesday organised a protest at the Student Centre, where Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) was set to announce its campaigning squad for the upcoming PU Campus Student Council elections.
CYSS, the student wing of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), is re-entering the fray after bagging the president’s post last year. Aayush Khatkar, an ABVP turncoat, was elected president by a margin of 660 votes in 2022. The elections were held after a two-year gap owing to the Covid-19 pandemic and was CYSS’s maiden student election at PU.
Parminder Singh Goldy, chairman, Punjab Youth Development Board, announced the party’s campaign team, including Alam Dhillon from department of history, Rajinder Tumb from department of information and library science, and Balwinder Chechi of the department of laws.
Earlier, Students for Society (SFS) and PSU Lalkaar raised slogans against the AAP-led Punjab government over the death of a 70-year-old farmer during a protest at Longowal in Sangrur on Monday.
The protesters accused the AAP of being the B-Team of the Bharatiya Janata Party at the Centre.
As CYSS supporters marched in a rally towards the Student Centre, cross-sloganeering erupted. An effigy of the Punjab government was also burned by the protesters, but the police and security staff intervened to ensure that the situation remained peaceful.
This year, the student elections are likely to be held in the second week of September.
University authorities have sent a proposal to the UT administration with a list of tentative dates for conducting the elections and response with the selected poll date is awaited.
Colleges have been urging PU and the UT administration to declare the election date soon so students can focus on their studies after wrapping up the elections.
As per dean students welfare (DSW) Jatinder Grover, admissions will finish by August 31, following which some days will be given for elections. Usually, 10 days are given for preparations and campaigning before the polling date. Security has already been beefed up to maintain law and order, and keep outsiders from entering the campus.
Candidate’s supporter caught with country made pistol
Mohali A Hisar resident, who is in the city to support a candidate contesting the student elections at DAV College, Sector 10, Chandigarh, was caught with a country made pistol and three live cartridges on Monday evening.
During preliminary questioning, the youth, Kulwant, alias Kaku, 22, revealed that he was carrying the weapon and ammunition as he suspected that his friend, a student of DAV College, could be attacked during the elections.
Assistant sub-inspector (ASI) Amritpal Singh said a police team stationed in Phase 3B1 made the recovery while checking a Hisar-registered Hyundai i20 car. The accused tried to flee on being signalled to stop, but was intercepted after a chase.
He said Kulwant was a wholesale milk seller in Hisar. The car belongs to his friend.
He was booked under the Arms Act at the Mataur police station. A local court sent him to three-day police remand.
