JNUSU polls: Nomination papers torn by ABVP members, claim SFI, AISF candidates

The candidates of the SFI and the AISF in the upcoming JNUSU polls alleged that they were attacked and their nomination forms were torn by members of the RSS-affiliated ABVP in the North Campus on Wednesday.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) denied the allegation. Police said the parties reached late to file nominations.

Members of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) and the All India Students' Federation (AISF) were on their way to the conference hall to submit their candidature when they were attacked by the ABVP activists around 2:35 pm in front of Gate Number 4 of the Arts Faculty, the parties alleged.

The nomination papers of the students were torn in the attack, they claimed.

The second attempt by their candidates to file the papers with copies of the nomination forms was thwarted again by the ABVP activists, who attacked the students and tore the forms around 2:55 pm, they said.

Paramanand Sharma, a visually-impaired student and an AISF member, and Vikas Bhadauria, the Delhi president of the SFI, were brutally attacked in the incident, the parties claimed.

Due to this, the candidates could not file their nominations before the deadline, they said.

"We demand that necessary steps be taken and the forms of the SFI and AISF candidates accepted and that necessary steps be taken against the undemocratic and violent attacks by the ABVP," one of the candidates said.

The ABVP, however, claimed that the allegation was completely false.

"Only the candidates were allowed to enter the premises and outside the authorised premises, a number of police personnel were present. So, it is a completely false allegation. As we are winning the election, the SFI and the AISF are trying to defame us. They came at 3.15 pm to file the nominations, which was well beyond the stipulated time," Ashutosh Singh, state media in-charge, ABVP, said.

Police said the SFI candidates came to file their nominations at 3.15 pm. There was a ruckus and CCTV footage was being examined, they said, adding that they had received a complaint from the SFI and the AISF and were looking into the matter.

The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) polls will be held on September 6 and the results will be declared on September 8.