'Rahul Gandhi's unannounced visit was a breach of institutional protocol'

Delhi University on Thursday raised strong objections to Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhirsquos unannounced visit to its varsity citing a breach of institutional protocol and a disruption to the functioning of student governance news agency PTI reportedShri Rahul Gandhi has done this for the second time coming to the university without any intimation and information to University of Delhi the proctors office stated in an official releaseEarlier in the day the Congress leader interacted with students from Scheduled Castes SCs Scheduled Tribes STs and Other Backward Classes OBCs at the universityrsquos North Campus on matters of representation equality and academic justiceThe interaction took place within the office of the Delhi University Studentsrsquo Union DUSU PresidentThe university condemned the visit and expressed hope that such an incident would not recurAccording to the official release Gandhi remained at the DUSU office for nearly an hour during which the area was cordoned off by security personnel The university criticised the visit for hindering the operations of a key student bodyThe DUSU office was cordoned off by security cover and no one was allowed to enter the statement said adding that the DUSU Secretary was also denied access to her officeSome students were locked in the room of the secretary DUSU and were misbehaved with by NSUI students the university allegedThese events unfolded while the DUSU Secretary waited outside attempting to gain access to her office but was reportedly blocked by members of the National Studentsrsquo Union of India NSUI the student wing of the Congress partyThe university condemns such action and hopes that this does not happen in future the statement read warning Strict action will be taken against students who were involved in thisrdquoResponding to the allegations DUSU President Ronak Khatri who is affiliated with NSUI said there is no requirement for the student union president to seek prior permission to host a private guestLet it be clearly stated this visit was conducted peacefully and solely within the premises of the DUSU Office to which I as the duly elected President of the Delhi University Students Union am fully entitled to invite any guest There exists no rule mdash academic or legal mdash that compels the President of DUSU to seek prior permission for hosting a private or informal guest interaction particularly when it does not constitute a public gathering or violate campus security said KhatriHe also claimed that the universityrsquos statements were not only ldquofactually incorrectrdquo but also indicative of ldquoadministrative overreachrdquoThis DUs press note unfortunately appears politically motivated biased in tone and undermines the democratic and autonomous functioning of the student body he addedThe Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad ABVP ndash affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh RSS ndash holding several positions in DUSU also criticised Gandhirsquos visit It dismissed the event as a mere photo opportunity and alleged that its representatives were excludedDUSU Secretary Mitravinda Karanwal affiliated with the ABVP claimed she and her team were prevented from entering the student union office due to ldquoVVIP protocolrdquoOnly after a lengthy negotiation was I graciously allowed entry mdash alone I refused to leave the students behind she saidThe ABVP described the event as ldquobad theatrerdquoIt stated Turning up uninvited silencing elected voices and treating a student union office like a private drawing room is not leadership mdash its theatre Rahul Gandhi visiting DU is like a rejected actor crashing a student play mdash no role no invite just loud entry and bad reviewsThe ABVP further alleged that Gandhi engaged solely with select NSUI members in what it described as an ldquoecho chamberrdquo rather than holding an open discussionIt questioned Is this the Congress partys idea of women empowerment Of youth outreach Of democratic valuesLast week Gandhi visited students at an Ambedkar hostel in Biharrsquos Darbhanga district as part of his lsquoShiksha Nyay Samvadrsquo That visit also held without official permission resulted in two FIRs being filed against him and over 100 Congress workers in the stateWith PTI inputsatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params