ABVP office bearers in outgoing DU Students' Union present report card

New Delhi, Aug 19 (PTI) The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad's office bearers in the outgoing Delhi University Students’ Union on Tuesday presented a report of their tenure, listing the implementation of the National Education Policy (NEP), measures for women’s safety, and opposition to fee hikes among the key initiatives.

DUSU elections for 2025-26 are scheduled for September 18, and the counting of votes will be held the next day.

At a press conference at the DUSU office in the university's North Campus, secretary Mitravinda Karanwal, vice-president Bhanu Pratap Singh, ABVP national secretary Shivangi Kharwal, and Delhi state secretary Sarthak Sharma highlighted the activities undertaken during the last year.

According to the office bearers, the union played a role in the rollout of the NEP, the introduction of the four-year undergraduate programme, the foundation of East and West campuses, and the setting up of a centralised hostel allocation system.

Strengthening of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) and a push for a “One Course – One Fee” policy were also mentioned among the achievements. The leaders claimed that 4,248 student grievances were resolved directly from the DUSU office, while thousands were reached through its DUSU on Campus campaign.

Other steps included raising a demand for a Rent Control Act to benefit students living in rented accommodations, initiating U-Special buses and conducting the Dr. B R Ambedkar Law Internship programme with participation from over 250 students.

Women’s safety and empowerment were described as a focus area.

Initiatives included round-the-clock Vamika Helpline, deployment of women PCR vans outside colleges, self-defence training under Mission Sahasi, and menstrual health awareness drives under the Ritumati Abhiyan.

The union said sanitary pad vending machines were reinstalled in several colleges.

The ABVP-led DUSU also opposed the proposed Rs 1 lakh bond for students and moves to hold indirect elections. The office bearers said the tenure reflected their effort to ensure student welfare and resist measures they considered arbitrary.

In the 2024 DUSU polls, the Congress-backed NSUI made a comeback after a seven-year hiatus, winning two key positions -- president and joint secretary. The RSS-backed ABVP secured the vice president post and retained the secretary position, maintaining its presence in the union.

Ahead of this year's elections, the university has issued guidelines to prevent the defacement of public property, with the Rs 1 lakh bond requirement forming a key part of the preventive measures. PTI MHS RHL