New Delhi, September 22
To keep off the influence of political parties, money and muscle power from campus during student union elections , the Supreme Court today ordered the implementation of report by the former Chief Election Commissioner, Mr J.M. Lyngdoh, in totality to conduct the polls in an orderly manner.

While giving four weeks’ time to the Centre and states to set up grievance-redress mechanism in order to implement the Lyngdoh panel’s recommendations, a Bench of Mr Justice Arijit Pasayat and Mr Justice Lokeshwar Singh Panta converted the panel’s report into its order to give it a judicial effect.

Expressing anguish over the happenings in college and university campuses these days in the wake of Professor H.S. Sabharwal’s killing in Ujjain, the apex court observed that given the scenario during elections in educational institutions across the country, if the reforms were not implemented then there should be at least a five-year moratorium on the poll.

The Lyngdoh panel, in its efforts to restrain undesirable elements from spoiling the campus peace during elections, had recommended the minimum and maximum age of 17 to 22 years, respectively, for undergraduate students and a minimum age of 24 years for postgraduate students to be eligible to vote.

The panel further said the relaxation in the age limit would be given appropriately in professional colleges, where the courses often range between four and five years, and for research students in universities, it had been specified at 28 years.

Only those students, who had attained minimum permissible percentage of attendance as prescribed in a college or university, or 75 per cent where it had not been prescribed, would be eligible to vote.

The contesting candidates “shall have one opportunity to contest for the post of office-bearers and two opportunities for the post of an executive member”.

To keep anti-social elements away from the campus politics, any student with a criminal record, which included trial in a case or a conviction, a misdemeanor, or being subjected to any disciplinary action by university authorities, would not be eligible to contest.

To check the use of big money in student politics, the maximum limit for spending by a student in election had been fixed at Rs 5,000.

“Each candidate shall, within two weeks of the declaration of the results, submit complete and audited accounts to the college or university authority as the case may be, which shall be published by them within two days of the submission,” the report said, adding that election of a candidate would be automatically nullified for not filing the expenses statement.

The political parties were completely barred from financing the elections of candidates of their affiliated student organisations as the students were only permitted to raise small funds from contribution among themselves.

“There shall be no appeal to caste or communal feelings for securing votes. Places of worship, within or outside the campus, shall not be used for the election propaganda,” the report said, while prohibiting use of printed posters, pamphlets or any other election material as only handmade posters would be permitted. 

New Delhi, September 22
The Union Government, placed in a piquant situation on the issue of illegal commercial ventures in the Capital in the face of the tough stand taken by the Supreme Court and the pressure from traders, today justified relaxation of norms against the sealing in a fresh affidavit.

The affidavit filed in the wake of a violent protest by traders on September 20 that resulted in the death of three persons, justified the change in the masterplan by issuing a notification on September 7.

The sealing, which was virtually stopped today after the government changed its stand, while the Centre’s affidavit submitted in court registry, termed the notification as “a valid piece of delegated legislation and complied with all the procedures mandated by Delhi Development Act, 1957.”

The notification had permitted mixed land use in a large number of colonies to permit commercial activities by categorising the localities as A, B, C and D.

The Supreme Court had pulled up the Centre for not taking it into confidence before issuing the notification when the matter was subjudice.

The government, in its changed stance, claimed that the decision for amending the masterplan by issuing the notification, was taken by taking into account the views of different sections of society and also that of the Tejender Khanna Committee.

The affidavit said the government had taken into consideration the problems of the traders as well as residents welfare associations and other organisations.

Bangalore, September 22
Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda today took on the role of the patriarch of the JD(S)-BJP government by castigating senior BJP leader and Higher Education Minister D.H. Shankaramurthy, who had recently called Tipu Sultan “anti-Kannada”.

The senior BJP leader had claimed that there was no need to include any chapter on Tipu Sultan in the NCERT books as Tipu had changed the language of the Mysore court to Persian and also done away with Kannada coins during his reign.

Despite pressure from various Muslim and social organisations, demanding that Mr Shankaramurthy be sacked for his controversial comments, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had chosen to remain silent on the issue.

Mr Deve Gowda, in an apparent bid to put a lid on the controversy and ensure that sizeable Muslim population of the state was not alienated, today said the remarks were “meaningless”.

Apologising to the people for the remarks, which he said had hurt their sentiments, Mr Deve Gowda said: “We strongly condemn any voice of dissonance against the great warrior,Tipu Sultan.

“We have to hang our heads in shame over the discordant notes over Tipu Sultan, who was a symbol of self-respect of Kannadigas and a widely acknowledged warrior.”

He also urged that no one should make attempts to distort history, clearly indicating that the JD(S) did not have the same views on the issue as the BJP Minister.

Besides a number of Muslim organisations, eminent personalities also stepped forward today to stress that Tipu Sultan was a patriot who had promoted Kannada.

Jnanpith awardee and eminent playwright Girish Karnad, while talking to reporters, said: “Tipu had been credited with starting many Kannada schools during his reign. How can Mr Shankaramurthy igore this and incite communal feelings.”

Mr Shanakaramurthy today said as far as he was concerned, the debate was closed. “I made certain remarks on Tipu Sultan which were based on recorded history and stand by them.” He asserted that this could not be construed as being anti-Muslim.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Government has tightened security in communally sensitive areas following threats of an agitation by various organisations in case Mr Shanakamurthy was not removed from the Cabinet. 

New Delhi, September 22
Described as a country that is moving from liberal to more restrictive regulations in higher education, experts have pointed out a need to balance regulations with autonomy of foreign education providers and focus on India becoming a major exporter of higher education.

“One should not think of it (foreign education providers coming to India) as the only thing…India could be a big exporter of higher education. There are many countries that are interested in India’s distance education programme, there are countries that recognise it as an option for less expensive education,” said Sir John Daniel, CEO and president of the Common Wealth of Learning.

Referring to Seychelles where doctors opted to go to New Zealand for specialised training, he said India had become a preferred destination there that offered less expensive education. “There are some states in the COL that are so small that they cannot even have a university. For doctors in Seychelles training in New Zealand would be close to a quarter of a million US dollars while the amount in India is far less,” he pointed out.

Sir Daniel who is in India for a workshop being organised by UNESCO and the Ministry of Human Resource Development to examine recent developments in the regulation of higher education, however, clarified that inexpensive education should not mean a compromise with quality.

He spoke of the need to strike a balance between adhering to regulations of the host country and the autonomy of the education provider. Making a case for borderless higher education he said, cross-border presents both opportunities and threats in that regard and we must work to maximise opportunities and minimise threats.

Conceding that borderless education needed attention, Mr Sudeep Banerjee, Secretary, Higher Education, said, “There should be no cross-border barriers of any kind.”

He, however, cautioned that regulations were needed to ensure there was no commodification and packaging of education to protect students.

The workshop, which brings together over 30 international experts, is looking at emerging trends in this field and at the growing concerns of the governments in South Asia.

New Delhi, September 22
Four former top bureaucrats today hailed as historic the Supreme Court’s judgement to insulate the Indian police from political influence and said it would put a stop to the “revolving door” practice of police chiefs and senior police officials being made to come and go at the behest of politicians.

Mr Prakash Singh, former DG of the BSF on whose PIL the apex court announced its judgement, said his fight for police reforms had borne fruit. He, along with Mr N.K. Singh, former senior CBI official, had moved the Supreme Court in larger public interest.

Mr Prakash Singh, who had been removed as chief of the Uttar Pradesh Police just before the demolition of the mosque in 1992, said it would be difficult to imagine that incidents like the mosque demolition and Gujarat riots could take place again after the judgement is implemented.

Mr Ved Marwah, former Governor of Manipur, Mizoram and Bihar, said now that the Supreme Court had fixed the tenure of key senior police officials, it would put a stop to the practice of top cops remaining at the beck and call of politicians. He recalled that when he was the Jharkhand Governor, the then Chief Minister had changed three DGs in less than a year.

Mr Trinath Mishra, former CBI Director, said: “You see, so far the DGPs’ fate was no better than those widows who committed sati. The day the Chief Minister is shown the door, his DGP would also go. What else is this if not sati?”

Mr Prakash Singh said: “I would say that what happens as of now is not just sati but ‘johar’ because a Chief Minister’s exit necessarily entails mass transfer.”

Mr B.P. Singh, former Union Home Secretary, said the judgement had two important aspects to it. An institutional mechanism wherein the court verdict’s implementation was monitored by the SC and a moral message that the days of political interference in police functioning were finally over.