By Santanu Banerjee
NEW DELHI: Seldom the women issues find its way into the mainstream election campaign. In the run-up to the Delhi University, Students Union polls at least one union has published a separate manifesto for the pink brigade. The Congress-affiliated National Students Union of India (NSUI) recently has released a “women manifesto” claiming to raise issues concerning the lady students studying in the university.
Their promise includes the facilitation of sanitary napkins in every college affiliated by the university at subsidized rates, an appointment of female health consultants in the colleges, equal hostel timings for boys and girls, deployment of female constables at the bus stop and outside evening colleges, etc. NSUI has called its all women manifesto, ‘Priyadarshini’.
The NSUI spokesperson said to the reporters, “We shall also start a ‘Big sister’ program in all the colleges. All senior students who enroll in the program will be allotted a fresher who they will guide and mentor throughout their college period”. He further added, “At a time when most Rio Olympic medals have been bagged by women of the country, girls are constantly being discouraged by the university administration for being involved in sports. We will take several initiatives to improve this situation”.
Last year, the DUSU polls were swept by BJP-affiliated Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) trouncing NSUI and AAP’s Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti (CYSS) to bag all four positions — president, vice president, secretary, and joint secretary. This time the NSUI is eyeing the votes at least of the female students of the varsity.
