3 min readNew DelhiMay 3, 2024 04:29 PM IST
First published on: May 3, 2024 at 05:41 AM IST
Delhi University (DU) will hold a ‘Run for Viksit Bharat’ on May 8, in which close to 5,000 students will participate, varsity Registrar Vikas Gupta said Thursday. In a statement, the university said that the objective of the run was to “bring awareness in society to make Bharat a developed nation by 2047”.
Asked why the varsity was holding an event that promotes Viksit Bharat — the current government’s roadmap to making India a developed nation by 2047 — in the midst of the Lok Sabha polls and when the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) is in force, Gupta told The Indian Express, “This has nothing to do with any particular political party. We are holding this run to create awareness amongst students to go out and vote.”
The event, the varsity said, is being conducted under the “collective aegis of the University of Delhi and Vikas Bharat Ambassador Club”. However, the meeting held to “decide the outline of the event and organise it successfully” had BJP’s Kuljeet Chahal in attendance. Chahal is the national convener of the Namo app, as well as a member of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). On X (formerly Twitter), he describes himself as a ‘Viksit Bharat Ambassador’. Chahal could not be contacted for comment.
The 2.4-km run, as per the university, will be held between the University Gate no 1 and the University sports complex. Neither of the two areas falls under NDMC.
The MCC came into effect on March 16 as the date for the polls was announced. On March 21, the Secretariat of the Election Commission of India (ECI) put up a statement on its website asking the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to stop “further delivery of messages regarding Vikshit Bharat during Model Code of Conduct”. The statement referred to WhatsApp messages which were sent out on March 15 before the MCC came into force and said, “It was informed in that letter that though the letters were sent out before MCC period, but due to system architecture and network limitations it is possible that some letters have a delayed delivery.”
“The Commission received complaints from various quarters that such messages are still being delivered on citizens’ phones. Since the MCC is now in force, you are hereby directed to ensure forthwith that no further delivery of ‘WhatsApp messages’ take place during MCC period. A compliance report in this regard may be sent immediately,” it added.
When asked if permission was sought from ECI, Gupta said, “This is a university and college event to motivate students. We are not doing this in alliance with any political party or with the involvement of any ministry.”
When asked if permission was sought from ECI, Gupta said. “This is a university and college event to motivate students. We are not doing this in alliance with any political party or with the involvement of any ministry.” 
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