What can we do when lawmakers themselves break law: Poll officer

We also have a grievance cell that is responsible for looking into complaints. The vice-chancellor also appoints principals of colleges and heads of institutions affiliated to DU as election officers.

I am a professor of chemistry at Delhi University, and this role is an additional responsibility. In fact, all the members’ primary job is teaching and what they do here is an additional responsibility for them. Dr Satish Kumar is officer on special duty, examination, while Dr Anju Gupta is director of non-collegiate women’s education board. We have been busy with these responsibilities from September 4.

The election is only two days away. Tell us about the plan drafted by you and your team for the big day?
Right now, we are busy setting up EVMs for elections. Tomorrow, they will be sent to various colleges and day after tomorrow, we will have the elections.

Every year, DUSU polls witness a lot of campaigning and consequent poll code violations. But the scale of campaigning this year has been unprecedented.
Parties have campaigned aggressively, posters have been put up everywhere, and even political parties figure in some of them. Can your office do anything about it?
My office does have the power to do things, but you have to understand that there is a procedure that it has to follow as well. To take action against a candidate or a party, we need some kind of proof first but that is difficult because most of the time, candidates or parties end up blaming each other.
Based on the printed material we have found, we have issued notices to 16 candidates from various political parties. They are expected to reply by today evening. Their replies, according to protocol, will then be transferred to the grievance redressal cell, which will summon the candidates for a personal hearing if it feels the need to do so.

Has the number of complaints increased compared to previous years?
This year, the number of complaints has actually decreased.

In case a candidate is found violating the poll code, what action can your office take?
We can cancel the nomination of the candidate or cancel the candidature of a winning candidate, if, after an inquiry, a candidate is found to have violated the poll code. This is why election results are announced provisionally, so that action can be taken after the elections as well.

Has serious action ever been taken against any candidate in the last four years? If yes, what action has been taken and against whom?
No major action has been taken in the last four years. But five years ago, action was taken against a candidate in one particular case.

What about candidates going to colleges and allegedly disrupting classes for campaigning? How does your office handle that? And how do you keep an eye on poll code violations happening in off-campus colleges, especially in areas like Dwarka and Najafgarh?
Only four students can campaign in a college at any given point of time. The college principal has to ensure that the rule is adhered to. Unfortunately, usually such incidents happen without the knowledge of the principal. We can only take steps if the principals inform us about them.
During the election, we do have observers — senior professors — who also visit off-campus colleges to check if elections are happening in the right spirit. I admit that it is impossible to keep an eye on poll violations happening on a day-to-day basis in these places. We can take action only if we get to know about such incidents. We have taken suo moto cognisance in some cases.

This year, we have also seen the direct intervention of political parties in DUSU elections…party leaders like Arvind Kejriwal have been actively seen canvassing for votes, besides being featured in prominent hoardings throughout DU. What action has your office taken?
We have received a complaint in this matter. Frankly, I am unsure of what my office, in its capacity, can do or what action it can take. But I know for a fact that the Lyngdoh Committee Guidelines specifically state that political parties cannot intervene in student elections, so they shouldn’t be intervening in them. I have forwarded the complaint to our legal cell and asked them to guide the office. The problem is, according to Lyngdoh Committee recommendations, we don’t recognise political parties, but have to recognise student groups arising from these political parties. As a CEO, I am doubtful of what my jurisdiction is.

What is the biggest challenge your office has faced this year?
The involvement of political parties is the biggest challenge we are facing this year. This despite the fact that I sent notices to all major parties on August 14, urging them not to get involved in DUSU elections. Unfortunately, I don’t know what this office can do when most of our so-called lawmakers are themselves engaged in breaking the law. As I see it, there are two aspects to this issue, legal and moral. Legally, I can’t comment much, because I’m not an expert, but morally, I don’t have an iota of a doubt that what the parties are doing is very wrong and unethical.