NSUI candidates attacked during DUSU poll campaigning

The countdown to the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) poll touched a new low on Wednesday when two NSUI candidates were allegedly attacked by supporters of Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) and Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishadh (ABVP) at a south campus college while they were campaigning.

"Today (Wednesday), the supporters of CYSS and ABVP attacked our candidates for DUSU poll Pradeep Vijayran and Prerna Singh with aluminium rods when they were campaigning in PGDAV College. It is a shameful day in DUSU poll history," National Students' Union of India (NSUI) Delhi unit president Vikas Chikara told IANS.

The Congress-affiliated NSUI has fielded Vijayran and Prerna Singh for the post of president and vice-president respectively in the DUSU poll.

Chikara blamed the Aam Aadmi Party's student wing CYSS and ABVP for the attack.

"At around 10.30 a.m., the goons of CYSS and ABVP asked them not to campaign in the college campus. When refused, they attacked our candidates with rods. Vijayran and Prerna Singh have suffered injuries in the incident," he said.

Chikara also claimed that the people who thrashed the NSUI candidates were not students of the college.

"CYSS's presidential candidate Kuldeep Bidhuri's brother was also one among the attackers," he said, adding that "we are going to lodge a police complaint in this connection at the nearby police station".

While condeming the attack, ABVP's Delhi unit secretary Saket Bahuguna said: "ABVP condemns the violence unleashed by the goons of AAP. This culture of violence is their contribution to the otherwise peaceful DUSU polls.

"They are sending their MLAs and goons to DU colleges to campaign gor their student wing," he said, adding: "ABVP condemns the full use of money power and muscle power by AAP in DUSU Elections."

However, CYSS termed the charges as "baseless".

CYSS vice-president Anmol Panwar said: "All the allegations against CYSS and its supporters are baseless."

"No one from CYSS was involved in any attack on NSUI candidates. They do not have any proof regarding our involvement in the attack," Panwar said.