Smear campaign, why target me for being a Hindu nationalist, asks LSE student Karan Kataria

“The officials said they would talk to LSE authorities so that the smear campaign against me is investigated impartially,” he said.

On Friday, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar visited Kataria’s Gurugram residence and assured his family that “he would leave no stone unturned to help him out”, said a senior officer from the CM’s Office. Khattar had written to LSE earlier, after Kataria’s mother and sister had sought his intervention in the matter.

LSE had on Wednesday told Khattar that Kataria was disqualified from contesting the students’ union elections “for breaking election rules”. Stating that it was “investigating” the allegations of “bullying, discrimination and harassment”, LSE assured the Haryana CM that it took “the well being of all our students, with the utmost seriousness”.

Kataria claimed the smear campaign against him started earlier this year, after he conducted a seminar on the significance of India’s G20 presidency. “I decided to contest the elections around that time and also filed my nomination. That’s when the hate campaign against me started,” he claimed, adding he had proof that the hate campaign was launched against him by individuals at LSE on various social media platforms.

“A fact-finding committee should be constituted to identify the people who disqualified me from exercising my democratic rights just because I am a Hindu nationalist,” he continued.

“The charges that led to my disqualification were changed thrice. First, I was accused of coercing seven individuals to vote for me. Within 14 hours, the number of these individuals dropped to two. After I appealed, the charge was changed to the accusation that I was present within 2 metres of a person who was voting,” he claimed.

Expressing his dissatisfaction with LSE’s response, he said, “Although LSE said an external review will be conducted to probe my concerns, I have not heard of any review being initiated so far. I have also asked for evidence or complaints leading to my disqualification, but nobody has shared a shred of evidence with me.”

An email was sent to LSE seeking its response on Kataria’s charges and the steps initiated by the institute to ensure his safety. LSE’s response is awaited.

In his letter to Khattar, Eric Neumayer, LSE president and vice-chancellor-elect (interim), had written, “… I want to state categorically that bullying, discrimination and harassment are completely unacceptable … We are aware of the reports that you raise in your letter, and we are investigating them. … With regards to specific concerns raised about the election, this was run by the LSE Students Union (SU), the organisation run by students for students. The SU has informed us that a candidate was disqualified from the leadership election for breaking election rules, and we understand an external review of the election proceedings will take place in due course.”

Talking about the impact on his studies, Kataria said, “I have exams next month. I have to write my dissertation too but I am stuck in all this.”