Delhi University (DU) Vice-Chancellor Yogesh Singh is under flak for using his post as a propaganda tool for the BJP government and its right-wing ideology. In the most recent example, DU today (April 30) organised a “One Nation One Election (ONOE)’ Run in the North Campus.
The ONOE Bill is yet to be passed by the Parliament; however, this is already the third event on the topic organised in and by DU in just over a month, according to DU PRO Anoop Lather.
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Other events
“On March 25 there was a lecture by former President Ram Nath Kovind at Hansraj College on One Nation One Election. Similarly, on April 2, the Delhi School of Journalism held a lecture on the topic by (BJP leader) Sunil Bansal,” Lather told The Federal.
That is not all. On April 26, Singh shared the stage in New Delhi with RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat at the release of the book Hindu Manifesto, authored by Swami Vigyanand, Joint General Secretary of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP).
On April 4, DU organised a felicitation ceremony for Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. She won as the DU Student’s Union (DUSU) President in 1996 from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS.
ONOE run
The ONOE Run organised in DU on Thursday was attended by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Rekha Gupta, and Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood. As expected, it was full of political speeches.
“If the country has to develop, if it is to be an economic superpower, if the youth want to touch great heights, we need stability in the country and the states,” Pradhan said in his speech.
He also said frequent elections were not good for the progress of the country as they led to loss of time and revenue.
“Run for ONOE is not just a run, it is a run to make India the strongest country by 2047,” he said.
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Delhi CM backs run
Rekha Gupta, in a post on X, said: “This is not just a race, it is a dream and a belief that together we can bring about a change in the electoral system of the country.”
DU, on its side, did not merely organise the event but also sent out email invitations to principals of colleges, department heads, members of the Executive Council (EC) and Academic Council (AC) as well as senior officials, stressing the importance of athletics in nation-building.
“Athletics is an important component of sports and it plays a significant role in character building of the youth of our Nation. Therefore, emphasis on the importance of athletics is required to be accorded in order to popularize athletics within the students of the University in future. The University feels that the organization of ‘ONE NATION ONE ELECTION’ Run to promote the importance of athletics in the youth will be successful with the active involvement and participation of all the stakeholders including the students, faculty members, non-teaching employees and alumni of the University,” the Registrar wrote in the email dated April 29.
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‘VC indulging in propaganda’
However, DU teachers and students have come down on the VC for indulging in “propaganda”.
“Events like the run organised in DU on the theme one nation, one election, reflect the increasing trend of the DU administration to peddle propaganda of the ruling regime. When the country’s Parliament has not passed the proposed electoral measure, it is a grave matter that a public funded university like DU is being used to influence public opinion without actually nurturing a culture within university spaces for debate and discussion on proposed so-called electoral reforms,” DU AC member Maya John told The Federal.
AC member Monami Sinha said, “Is DU becoming the official propaganda channel of the BJP-RSS?”
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Hoardings taken down
Several huge hoardings for the programme, which were put all over the North Campus, were taken down by DUSU President Ronak Khatri from the Congress’s student wing National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). They beat the posters with sticks till they tore.
“If we paste posters, we are immediately taken to court for defacement but the university administration can use the space for propaganda. The VC does not have time to meet students and listen to their issues, but he has the time to do BJP’s bidding on a bill which hasn’t even been passed by Parliament,” said Khatri.
When asked about allegations of indulging in BJP propaganda, Yogesh Singh told The Federal, “It is a Government of India initiative. It has nothing to do with a specific party.” Asked if he was blurring the lines between his post as VC and his personal politics, Singh refused to comment.