'End political interference in campus elections'

New Delhi, Sep 29: Political interference should be prevented in college elections, says former chief election commissioner J M Lyngdoh who headed a six-member committee on campus elections that has submitted its recommendations to the Supreme Court. The panel has specifically recommended that politicians should be kept out of the political affairs of colleges.

''Politicians have no business meddling in college elections,'' Mr Lyngdoh told the 'Outlook' magazine.

Mr Lyngdoh says he believes it is possible to delink political parties from college elections.

''We are not saying that ABVP, NSUI or SFI are out. We have instead looked into the problems that come in the way of peaceful conduct of elections. In the course of our interacts, we discovered the extent to which students are exploited by politicians,'' he said.

''We think it is workable. That's why we have gone into great detail on listing the eligibility criterion for students aspiring to contest,'' he said.

The committee has suggested a code of conduct, specified an age and laid down a minimum attendance of 75 per centt for the contestants, he added.

The contestants should have no criminal record and there should be no political interference in campus elections, Mr Lyngdoh says.

Mr Lyngdoh says he found the situation in educational institutions in Uttar Pradesh shocking. ''UP was really the pits. We found students there just go and jump on business establishments to extract money before elections. Aspiring candidates have at least four gunmen and new cars to campaign.''

UNI