Breach of institutional protocol: DU on Rahul Gandhi's unannounced visit
New Delhi, May 22 (PTI): Delhi University on Thursday objected to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's unannounced visit to its North Campus, calling it a breach of institutional protocol and a disruption of student governance operations.
"Shri Rahul Gandhi has done this for the second time... coming to the university without any intimation and information to University of Delhi," the proctor's office said in an official release.
Earlier in the day, Gandhi, who is also the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, interacted with students from Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) at the DU's North Campus, focusing on issues of representation, equality and academic justice.
The session was held at the office of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) president.
The university condemned Gandhi's visit and said it hoped that such a thing would not happen again.
According to the release, Gandhi remained in the DUSU office for almost an hour, during which the area was cordoned off by security personnel.
The university criticised the visit for disrupting the functioning of a key student body.
"The DUSU office was cordoned off by security cover and no one was allowed to enter," it said, noting that the DUSU secretary was also barred from accessing her office.
"Some students were locked in the room of the secretary, DUSU, and were misbehaved with by NSUI students," it claimed.
These actions occurred while the DUSU secretary remained outside, seeking access to her office but was prevented from entering by members of the National Students' Union of India (NSUI), the Congress' student wing, it added.
"The university condemns such action and hopes that this does not happen in future," the release said.
"Strict action will be taken against students who were involved in this," it added.
The RSS-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), which holds several posts in the DUSU, also issued a statement criticising Gandhi's visit.
It said the Congress leader's visit was a photo-op rather than a genuine outreach and claimed that its representatives were sidelined during the event.
DUSU Secretary Mitravinda Karanwal, aligned with the ABVP, alleged that she and her team were prevented from entering the student body's office due to "VVIP protocol".
"Only after a lengthy negotiation was I 'graciously' allowed entry -- alone. I refused to leave the students behind," she said.
The ABVP termed the event "bad theatre".
It said, "Turning up uninvited, silencing elected voices and treating a student union office like a private drawing room is not leadership -- it's theatre."
"Rahul Gandhi visiting DU is like a rejected actor crashing a student play -- no role, no invite, just loud entry and bad reviews."
The ABVP further accused Gandhi of engaging with only select NSUI members in what it called an "echo chamber" instead of holding an open dialogue.
It said, "Is this the Congress party's idea of women empowerment? Of youth outreach? Of democratic values?"
Last week, Gandhi met students at an Ambedkar hostel in Bihar's Darbhanga district as part of his 'Shiksha Nyay Samvad'. The event, held without official permission, led to the registration of two FIRs against him and more than 100 Congress workers in the state.
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Pothole issue is there across country, govt is fixing it in Bengaluru: Shivakumar
Bengaluru (PTI): Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said the pothole issue is there across the country, including the national capital New Delhi, and projecting in the media as if the issue is there only in Karnataka is not right.
Shivakumar, who is also the minister in charge of Bengaluru development said that the government has the duty and the responsibility to fix the issue, and it is working on it.
He also hit out at the opposition BJP for not maintaining the roads while in power and raising the issue now, keeping civic body polls in mind.
His comments came in the backdrop of industry veterans in Bengaluru like former Infosys CFO Mohandas Pai and Biocon Chairperson Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw recently urging the state government to immediately intervene, after online trucking platform BlackBuck decided to move the company out of its current location at Bellandur on Bengaluru's Outer Ring Road (ORR), citing commuting and road infrastructure issues.
Karnataka BJP has also decided to stage a road blockade protest on September 24 in all 224 Assembly constituencies on the issue of the condition of the roads across the state, especially in Bengaluru.
"We are filling potholes, despite rain, we are doing it. Work is on daily to fill about a thousand potholes in each corporation (5 corporations in Bengaluru)," Shivakumar told reporters here, before leaving for Bihar.
Stating that he had been to Delhi and had seen the roads there, he said, "Please ask your reporters there (in Delhi) as to how many potholes are there? How many are there in the road that leads to the Prime Minister's residence?"
"I want to tell big IT companies and others that such things (pothole issue) are everywhere, we are doing our job. It is there across the country, but we have a duty, we will do it," he said.
Projecting as if such things are there only in Karnataka is not right, the Deputy CM said, as he asked, "If roads were maintained during the BJP government, why such a situation would have arisen now?"
"They (BJP) did not do it. Elections (corporation polls) are approaching, so they are doing it. Let it be, we will do our duty," he added.
Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, along with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will be going to Bihar to participate in the Congress Working Committee meeting in Patna on September 24.
"We have our Congress Working Committee Meeting in Bihar tomorrow, CM is leaving today evening. There is also an extended working committee meeting under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, and we will be attending it," Shivakumar said.
