Team Herald
TALEIGAO: Goa University (GU) Vice-Chancellor (VC) Varun Sahani on Friday slammed the students for boycotting the GUSC elections advising them to first contest the elections, win it and then change the rules for conducting the elections.
He was speaking at the inaugural function of Post Graduate (PG) Students Union at the GU campus.
“You cannot make changes of the rules for participation in elections, participate under the elections, win the elections and then change the rules. We believe that students particularly today have a right to articulating their views” said Sahani while referring to the recent GUSC elections in which majority students had boycotted it demanding open elections
“We believe that any government system actively involves students representatives in the decision making process itself will necessarily come out with better decisions that will have a positive impact for everybody. I am political scientist and for me politics is not a dirty word, my entire life I have studied politics and have a deep respect for politicians. I certainly do not have problem with student politics at all,” he said
Further speaking on the recent issue of students demanding ‘Open Election’, Sahani said that he welcomes it but we are bound by the Constitution of India by the judgements of the Supreme Court and student’s politics has to be done within the parameters of the recommendations of the Lyndoh Committee as accepted by SC.
“Student politics has to be done within the parameters of the recommendations of the Lyndoh Committee as accepted by SC and I am very clear about that. So if there are student’s politics you have to be 24 in age or below if you are a UG, 26 for PG and 28 if he or she is a research student. These are the upward ceilings set, so if I face any student delegation or if anyone is above the age of 28, I will not interact with you because it violates the rules” he added
It may be recalled that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) students’ wing had recently swept the Goa University Student’s Council (GUSC) elections bagging all nine positions unopposed, while other student unions boycotted the elections continuing their protest demanding that the election process be scrapped and open election be supported.
