Karnataka elections: Delhi University teachers appeal to voters to defeat BJP

A section of Delhi University teachers on Thursday appealed to Dalit and minority voters in Karnataka to defeat the BJP in the May 12 assembly election, alleging the government led by the party at the Centre took steps to end reservations in appointments of faculties, privatise education and make the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act toothless.

In a press conference, Delhi University Forum for Social Justice Convener Suraj Mandal said, "There is an atmosphere of hatred in the country and the Modi government has stopped all the means of employment, pushing the youth towards the path of religious frenzy and caste prejudice.

In the garb of a court order, the Modi government on the one hand has turned the SC/ST Act toothless and disabled its spirit and on the other reservation in appointments of the faculty positions has been done away with in all the universities of the country."

Delhi University teachers have been fighting against a circular of the University Grants Commission (UGC), dated March 5, 2018, on the reservation in faculty positions.

According to a statement issued by the Delhi University Teachers Association(DUTA), the move would end reservation in appointments in university/colleges as the number of vacancies department/subject wise are limited.

Mandal, who is a grandson of former Chairman of Backward Classes Commission Late B P Mandal and an associate professor with Swami Shraddhanand College, said, "We appeal to Dalit, backward, tribal, minority...and many other and their organisations for defeating the anti-social justice BJP in the election in Karnataka.

PTI