Congress backs students’ agitation for AUSU restoration
The UP Congress has backed the restoration of a students’ union in the Allahabad University (AU).
UP Legislative Council Congress leader Deepak Singh, on a recent visit to Prayagraj, to meet university students lodged in Naini jail, said that his party supported the ongoing agitation of AU students against the decision of the university to replace students’ union with a students’ council.
He assured students that the party will spearhead the campaign for the restoration of a students’ union in Allahabad University and also announced that when the Congress government returns to power, the students’ union will be restored in Allahabad University.
Similarly, senior Congress leader and former Allahabad University Students Union (AUSU) vice-president Abhay Awasthi slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for opposing student politics and replacing the students’ union with a students’ council for the second time in the history of AU, both times during BJP rule.
“During the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government between 1999 and 2004 when Govind Harshe was AU vice-chancellor, the students’ union was replaced by a students’ council. But after the UPA government came to power with Arjun Singh as Union minister of human resource and development, the students’ union was reinstated on the initiative of Rahulji. Now, again, with the BJP government in power, the students’ union has been replaced with a students’ council,” he said.
According to the Congress leader, if there was a law and order problem with students’ union politics, it was an issue to be addressed by the district and the university administration. “The law and order graph in Uttar Pradesh is rising with each passing day. Does that mean that the democratic set up should be attacked and held responsible?” he asked.
Former Congress MLA and AUSU president and Congress working committee current member Anugrah Narayan Singh said that the AUSU was nursery of politics which had given several politicians to the country including former prime ministers Chandrashekhar, Gulzarilal Nanda, Vishwanath Pratap Singh etc. He said replacing the students’ union with a students’ council was a thing that the BJP government had done in the past too but the Congress would extend support to the ongoing students’ agitation against the move.