Women's safety top issue in JNUSU election

With growing cases of crimes against women at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), most student organisations Wednesday outlined women safety as their agenda for the student union elections.

After the two JNUSU officer bearers, both from the All India Students Association (AISA), resigned last month after being accused of sexual harassment, other student organisations have made it into their poll agenda.

In the Sep 12 poll of the JNU Student Union, students will elect president, vice president, general secretary, joint secretary along with the councillors of different schools.

Be it the left wing Students Federation of India (SFI), the newly formed alliance of Democratic Students' Federation (DSF) and All India Students' Federation (AISF) called the Left Progressive Front (LJF) or the right wing Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) or the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) --making campus safe for women is priority of all.

"We talk about empowering women but we only live in fear. So we will fight so that women get representation and can exercise 'freedom without fear'," said Rahila Perween.

Perween is the only woman candidate fighting for the post of president at JNUSU.

The other important issues that the student organisations are harping on are increasing hostel facility, improving infrastructure, providing alternative accommodation and increasing the scholarship amount.

"We also want restructuring of the courses and syllabus. It has become outdated and needs to be changed. So if we come to power we will fight for it," Sourabh Kumar, presidential candidate of ABVP said.

AISA which had bagged all four posts last year is now taking credit for scrapping of the four-year-programme and government decision on the CSAT to garner votes, in the aftermath of sexual harrasment allegation against its members.

"You all should see the things we have done in JNU and DU. We helped in defeating FYUP, gave direction to anti-rape movement and mobilised students against communal forces," Ashutosh Kumar, AISA's presidential candidate said.