ABVP not just a student union, but an ideology, says Bidre in Indore

INDORE: Ahead of Akhil Bhartiya Vidhyarthi Parishad’s (ABVP) 62nd national conference in Indore, its national president and general secretary have come out to clear the air on its autonomy, saying it’s a student body which is independent from the political party.

Addressing media persons here, ABVP national president Nagesh Thakur and general secretary Vinay Bidre said, “Today we are not just restricted being a student union, we’ve turned into an ideology.”

For the last couple of weeks ABVP’s identity as a student wing or a political party wing was much discussed, as National Students Union of India (NSUI) raised questions about how a political party wing could be allowed to conduct a national convention in an educational institution.

The matter was moved to Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court challenging the allocation of a government college campus for the meet, and also the financial help provided by the state government for organising the event. However, court on Tuesday dismissed a prayer for interim relief to stay the ABVP convention, thereby providing a green signal for the meet.

ON STUDENT ELECTIONS

Replying to a query from media on student election results in prominent universities like Jawaharlal Nehru University and Delhi University, Bidre said, “At JNU, five different student unions contested together against ABVP, but we still managed to get the highest 26.8 percent vote. At DU, we have got 10,000 votes more than that in the previous year. Except for the joint-secretary post, our candidates won all the three other seats.”

Bidre said ABVP has even managed to get good results in student polls at universities in northeastern states and Rajasthan.

ON OFFICE ATTACK

On recent attack at their Mumbai and Bangalore offices, Thakur said that ABVP workers are strong enough to retaliate, but believe in channelising the energy of youth in constructive activities for betterment of the society.

ON FEE REGULATION BODY

Meanwhile, the ABVP leaders failed to comment on appointment of a regulation body to check exorbitant fees in schools and colleges in the state, unlike Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra, who already have the same. “Since we believe in democratic process, we can only run campaigns with people and ask the state government to bring fee regulation act. We cannot force them to do it,” Thakur said.

Both the leaders backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s move on demonetisation, saying it will help to curb corruption in the country. They also favoured caste-based reservation saying it should be continued until equality prevailed in the society.