The Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU) on Saturday held a national convention,challenging the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations on students union elections. Speaking during the convention,Member of Parliament D Raja said the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations need to be reviewed as Lyngdoh could not connect with the student politics and that is why his recommendations are going against the democratic politics. He said India is transforming from a welfare state to a neo-liberal state,curbing labour and students unions. We have to see Lyngdoh in this light. Students from at least eight universities,including Allahabad,Patna,Jammu,Aligarh,Hyderabad and Ahmedabad,participated in the convention. There was also representation from Jamia Millia Islamia and Delhi University. Vice-President of Aligarh Muslim University students union Abdul Qadir Jeelani said,A president elected in accordance with the Lyngdoh Committee recommendations will be like a class monitor with good percentage of marks and attendance. Former JNUSU president Albeena Shakil argued that the whole philosophy of LCR is wrong. She said the recommendations are a way of addressing issues of money and muscle in students elections,but the biggest deterrent to such influences is mass participation of students in the electoral process.
