ABVP suspends Ankiv Baisoya, asks him to quit DUSU presidency; NSUI says too late
New Delhi, Nov 15: New Delhi, Nov 15 (PTI) ABVP has asked DUSU president Ankiv Baisoya to resign from his post and also suspended him from the students body till an inquiry into the allegations that he furnished a fake degree is completed, drawing criticism from NSUI that the decision was taken under pressure ahead of the high court hearing.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad said in a statement it has asked Baisoya to step down as DUSU president and also relieved him of all responsibilities in ABVP till the Delhi University completes the verification process.
ABVP said the decision was taken to maintain the "genuineness" of Delhi University Students Union.
But NSUI said this was clearly a decision taken under pressure ahead of the high court hearing on November 20.
"This is an attempt to save whatever little face ABVP can. They waited for two months in an attempt to keep the DUSU presidentship with ABVP instead of asking him to step down when the matter came to light. ABVP also didn't set up any inquiry committee of its own. So, this decision at this belated hour is clearly cynical and cowardly," the National Students Union of India said.
The Delhi High Court on Monday gave DU time till November 20 to verify the authenticity of Baisoya's bachelor's degree from a university in Tamil Nadu. The two-month period within which a re-election could be held ended on November 13.
Baisoya was elected DUSU president in September.
NSUI and AISA have accused the DU administration of deliberately delaying an investigation of the alleged fake degree of Baisoya.
The high court is hearing the case on a plea of NSUI student leader Sunny Chillar, who has sought from the court that Baisoya's election be set aside after news reports said the registrar of Thiruvalluvar University had "unambiguously and unequivocally" declared Baisoya's certificate "fake and forged".
Chillar has also alleged that DU was "deliberately delaying" the verification process as no fresh polls would be held for DUSU presidency in case Baisoya's election is set aside over the fake degree issue after expiry of the two-month period.
According to Lyngdoh Committee guidelines on university elections, if a post fell vacant within two months of declaration of results, fresh polls would be held, his plea has said.
“Keeping in mind students’ struggle, emotions and expectations and in order to maintain the genuineness of Delhi University Students Union, ABVP asked Ankiv to resign from his post and also removed him from all the responsibilities of organisation till DU completes the verification process.”
Statement by ABVP
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Constitution amendment bill defeat was BJP’s first embarrassment in Parliament: Margaret Alva
Bengaluru (PTI): Senior Congress leader Margaret Alva on Monday said that the constitution amendment bill's defeat in the Lok Sabha on April 17 was the first embarrassment faced by the BJP-led government in Parliament.
She also alleged that the BJP has no real concern regarding women’s reservation.
The opposition INDIA bloc defeated the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill that sought to facilitate the implementation of women's reservation by expanding the strength of the Lok Sabha, apart from making changes to delimitation.
"This is the first embarrassment and defeat faced by the NDA government in the Lok Sabha," the former Governor of Gujarat and Rajasthan said in a press conference here.
According to her, the women’s reservation has been under discussion since the time of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.
"During Rajiv Gandhi’s tenure, a 14-member committee was formed, and I was appointed as its chairperson. We prepared a report after studying what needed to be done to enhance the dignity of women across 12 sectors. This was submitted to the government in 1989,” Alva, 84-year-old veteran Congress leader, said.
She said political empowerment for women was emphasised in that report, without which, empowerment in any other sphere is not possible.
“Many people in Parliament used to question me — should we vacate seats for women and stay at home cooking? Why insist on this? Has anyone written these seats in your name? This debate has been ongoing since 1975,” Alva explained.
The Congress leader said Rajiv Gandhi had introduced 33 per cent reservation for women in local bodies.
“At that time, all opposition parties united and defeated the Bill,” she pointed out.
Again, during the tenure of former Prime Minister late P V Narasimha Rao, the 33 per cent reservation Bill in local bodies was passed.
“It was the Congress party that first introduced women’s reservation. Now they are falsely accusing us of being anti-women,” Alva charged.
In 2023, the Women’s Reservation Bill was passed with much fanfare, but it was not immediately implemented.
According to her, a condition was imposed for its implementation that it would be enforced based on census data.
"Once it is in the statute book, what is preventing its implementation? Two years for the census and another two years for delimitation — this means it cannot be implemented by 2029. It was not given in 2024, and there is no possibility even in 2029," Alva charged the BJP-led government at the Centre.
The Congress leader said the BJP is saying that the Bill can be implemented based on the 2011 Census, but when the same suggestion was made in 2023, the BJP rejected it.
On increasing the Lok Sabha seats by 50 per cent, she sought to know the basis for it.
“Where did this (idea) come from? Whose advice was taken? Was it decided by the RSS? Or ordered by a court?” Alva asked.
The former union minister said the Constitution amendment bill, which was defeated on April 17 appears to favour certain North Indian states.
“We pay taxes, but they receive greater benefits and allocations. If seats are increased by 50 per cent based on their calculations, we would get only 14 additional seats, while they would get 40. How is this fair?” she questioned.
While 298 members voted in support of the bill in Lok Sabha, 230 MPs voted against it. Out of 528 members who voted, the bill required 352 votes for a two-third majority.
According to the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, Lok Sabha seats were to be increased to "operationalise" the women's reservation act before the 2029 parliamentary polls, following a delimitation exercise based on the 2011 Census.
Seats were also to be increased in state and Union territory Assemblies to accommodate 33 per cent reservation for women.
