Ambedkar College professor slapped by ABVP leader on campus; DUTA seeks action
New Delhi (PTI): A DU teacher was allegedly slapped and assaulted by DUSU joint secretary Deepika Jha and other members of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) on Thursday, a group of faculty members said.
A video, purported to be of the incident, surfaced online, showing a teacher being assaulted by a group of students inside Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar College in the presence of the police.
Several Delhi University teachers condemned the incident, calling it an attack on the dignity of educators.
A professor, requesting anonymity, said that a National Students' Union of India candidate who had won a college council election was allegedly thrashed by the members of the RSS-backed ABVP.
According to a statement by the Democratic Teachers' Front (DTF), the teacher, Sujit Kumar, who is the convenor of the college's disciplinary committee, was looking into similar incidents of campus violence involving students from different groups when he was assaulted.
Jha, in a statement, said she was in the college to address complaints of "misbehavior and physical assault" raised by students against Kumar.
She said Kumar "threatened" and used "abusive language" against her in the principal's room. She also accused him of reeking of alcohol.
"His repeated threats, constant staring, and indecent remarks made it quite evident that the said professor, Sujit Kumar, had once again come to the college under the influence of alcohol. In that moment of distress and anger, I reacted impulsively, for which I sincerely express regret," Jha said.
The Delhi University Teachers' Association (DUTA) has written to the university vice-chancellor, demanding an inquiry into the matter.
"We are deeply shocked to learn that a senior teacher at B.R. Ambedkar College has been slapped and assaulted by a group of students inside the college premises while performing his duty. The violence in any form is completely unacceptable in a democratic institution. This is an assault on the dignity of a teacher," the association said in a letter.
It added, "We request you to enquire into the whole incident and take immediate and exemplary action against those involved. Stringent action will send a clear message against indiscipline and lawlessness."
Rudrashish Chakraborty, associate professor at Kirori Mal College, termed what happened at the college "shocking" but "hardly surprising."
"It is part of a series of lumpen acts by ABVP not only in DU but across the country, enabled by the active patronage of the DU administration, which has given ABVP a free hand to run riot across the University," he said.
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Women's quota bill would have ensured defeat of democracy, Constitution: Aaditya Thackeray
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray on Saturday said that the passage of the women's quota bill would have ensured a "total defeat of democracy", alleging that the legislation, linked with a delimitation exercise, was a political tool designed to reduce the voice of states.
Thackeray, in a post on X, claimed that the Bill would have amended the Constitution for the political means of the ruling regime to increase seats, reduce the voice of many states and enable the gerrymandering of constituencies to ensure unfair victories.
"The very amendment that would have ensured the total defeat of democracy and the Constitution in India stands rejected by the unity of the Opposition MPs," he wrote.
The legislation should have been called "Delimitation to ensure unfair victory Bill", the former minister said, adding that there was a genuine need to enable 33 per cent reservation for women in the current number of seats.
"Now, it is up to the government to ensure that it is implemented in the 543 seats of the Lok Sabha for the 2029 elections and all elections across India, if that is the real intent of the government," he wrote.
A Constitution Amendment Bill to implement reservation for women in legislatures in 2029 and increase the number of Lok Sabha seats was defeated on Friday in the Lower House.
While 298 members voted in support of the Bill, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the Bill required 352 votes for a two-thirds majority.
According to the Constitution Amendment Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to a maximum of 850 from the current 543 to "operationalise" the women's reservation law before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
