Govt to form panel to reintroduce student elections: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar announced on Wednesday that the Karnataka government plans to reintroduce student elections in the state, which were banned in 1989 following incidents of violence.
He revealed that a committee would be formed to examine the issue and propose the next steps for reinstating the elections.
Speaking at a Constitution Day event organised by the Karnataka Congress, Shivakumar emphasised the importance of campus elections in fostering leadership. “Recently, (Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha) Rahul Gandhi wrote a letter to me and Chief Minister (Siddaramaiah) asking us to think about restarting student elections,” Deccan Herald quoted Shivakumar as saying.
“I’m announcing today that we’ll form a small committee and seek a report on this,” he added. Student elections were banned in 1989 after a series of violent incidents in Karnataka, which led to the disappearance of student bodies affiliated with political parties from college campuses.
Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, said former student leaders will be “brought together to study the pros and cons” of bringing back campus elections. “There were many criminal activities taking place back then. We’ll see how we can conduct (student) elections by regulating such criminal activities,” said Shivakumar.
Reflecting on his own experience as a student leader, Shivakumar recalled his time at Sri Jagadguru Renukacharya College. Shivakumar recalled that during his final year of college, his political activism earned him a ticket to contest his first election in 1985 from the erstwhile Sathnur constituency. At just 23 years old, he ran against H.D. Deve Gowda but lost the election.
He lamented that the spirit of student leadership has faded over time. "College elections have stopped. Many of us came through student leadership. Those elections were like a big movement,” Shivakumar added.
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RSS man's defamation case against Rahul: Key witness unavailable, hearing adjourned to Dec 20
Thane (PTI): A court in Bhiwandi in Thane district on Saturday adjourned the hearing in the criminal defamation case filed against Congress leader Rahul Gandhi by a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker to December 20 due to non-availability of a crucial prosecution witness.
Advocate Narayan Iyer, counsel for Rahul Gandhi, confirmed the adjournment, stating that the witness, Ashok Saykar, currently Deputy Superintendent of Police in Barshi in Solapur, could not remain present due to personal reasons.
Saykar's evidence is now likely to be recorded on December 29.
His testimony is considered key because he, as police sub inspector in 2014, conducted the preliminary inquiry into the private defamation matter under Section 202 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).
It was on the basis of Saykar's submitted report that the court subsequently issued process (summons) against Rahul Gandhi under Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
The criminal defamation case was filed by local RSS worker Rajesh Kunte following a speech given by Rahul Gandhi at an election rally near Bhiwandi on March 6, 2014.
The case stems from the Congress leader's alleged statement that "the RSS people killed (Mahatma) Gandhi."
The matter is being heard by Bhiwandi Joint Civil Judge, Junior Division, P M Kolse.
The hearing had previously been adjourned on November 15 after the complainant's counsel, Advocate Prabodh Jaywant, moved an application seeking permission to examine Saykar, who had submitted the probe report to the court.
The matter was originally scheduled for November 29 but was deferred to December 6 after Rahul Gandhi's legal team sought an adjournment citing their non-availability. The proceedings will now resume on December 20.
