Cuttack: A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed before the Orissa High Court seeking direction to the state government to take necessary steps for holding student union elections in colleges and universities this year.
The PIL, filed by the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), has sought steps for holding student union elections in all colleges and universities across the state this year, according to senior lawyer, Pitambar Acharya.
Apart from citing several reasons for holding the student union elections, the petition has also mentioned certain disadvantages of not holding the campus election in the state.
The Secretary of the Higher Education department of the state government has been named respondent in the petition.
The petition was filed after student leaders in the state lamented that the Common Academic Calendar for the academic session 2023-24 issued recently by the Higher Education Department mentioned nothing about students’ union election. They have also threatened to launch an agitation if the campus elections are not held this year.
ABVP state secretary Arijit Patnaik had already threatened to take legal step alleging that the government has killed the leadership qualities of the students. There are over 20 lakh youth voters on college campuses and the government fears that they will go against it, he has alleged.
ABVP will hit the streets if the campus elections are not held this year, he had said, while indicating that the student leaders would move the court for to seek union elections.
Notably, student wings of opposition political parties have strongly protested reported moves by the Odisha government against holding annual union election in the current academic year in colleges and universities across the state.
The student leaders have demanded immediate steps by the state government to announce the dates for students union elections in colleges and universities.
