Giving in to the mounting pressure put up by the students’ unions of all hues, the Uttarakhand Government is now all set to effect sweeping changes in the execution of lyngdoh Committee Recommendation meant for the students’ union elections. The State Government has cited impracticability of some provisions of the recommendations while explaining its move to amend it to make them more practicable. It, however, has ruled out any possibility of doing away with the basic spirit of the recommendations.
The Government has constituted a three- member committee headed by the vice- chancellor of the Uttarakhand Residential University, Almora, H C Dhami to review the recommendation of the lyngdoh committee for the universities and colleges located across the State and suggest necessary amendments in its implementation.
The Minister of State for higher education, Dhan Singh Rawat said while talking to The Pioneer that there are many impractical things in the lCR like limit of Rs5000 on expenditure for the contesting candidates and a ban on victory celebrations or processions. “These are some of the provisions of the recommendations which are not followed anywhere and the administration does not insist on them being followed strictly,” he said. He, however, hastened to add that the State Government is not intent on diluting the essence of the lCR.
The Minister also cited provisions like stopping a defeated candidate from contesting next year and compulsion of choosing the office bearers of students unions of the universities from the University Representatives (UR) and dubbed them as impracticable. “They surely need a review,” he said while pitching for more powers be given to the students’ unions in the universities and the colleges.
Interestingly, all student leaders cutting across the party affiliations are solidly standing with the State Government in its move to amend lCR. The state president of the Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) Mohan Bhandari said that NSUI supports the idea of amending the lCR. “We have been demanding it for long. We have full support for the State Government’s move on the issue,’’ he said.
Notably, on the direction of the Supreme Court, the Union ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) had constituted a committee headed by the former Chief Election Commissioner J M lyngdoh in 2006 to bring some order in the student union elections while freeing the student politics from the shackles of money and muscle power. lyngdoh in his report had suggested sweeping electoral reforms much to the dismay of the student leaders.