Defaced walls: Will find culprits, says DUpoll officer

After the results of the Delhi University Students' Union (DUSU) elections were announced Saturday, the chief election officer has said he will now get to those who have defaced walls and damaged public property in the capital.

"This is the reason that even though the DUSU election results have been announced, candidates' names are provisional. Now, I am working to prove the charges against those who have indulged in such (defacing of walls and destruction of property) actions," Ashok Vohra, DUSU chief election officer, told IANS.

As per the guidelines of the Lyngdoh Committee on student elections, candidates cannot deface and disfigure public property with posters. Election codes clearly state that if there is any violation of rules, the person concerned is liable for disqualification and punishment.

"Among the 21 candidates, only one has responded. From Monday, I will be working in this direction. Even after six months, if students are found and proven to have violated the election provisions, they would be removed," Vohra said.

The two major student wings of national parties, National Students' Union of India(NSUI) and Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) has stuck hundreds of posters on college walls, lamp posts, subway and flyover walls, not just in and around the north and south campus, but at prominent intersections on the two Ring Roads.

Even students at the university have expressed anger over the scale of the defacement and littering of the campus roads during the elections.

"The entire street is covered with these papers, when using flyers is actually not allowed while campaigning for these elections. What is more ridiculous is the destruction of public property and scribbling of ballot numbers on walls and shops," said Aishwarya Chaurasia, a student of Shri Ram College of Commerce.

--Indo-Asian News Service

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