The United Democratic Students’ Front (UDSF) has filed a complaint with P. Raveendran, Vice-Chancellor (V-C), Calicut University (CU), seeking action against the alleged violation of rules and administrative failures during the oath-taking ceremony for newly elected Departmental Students’ Union (DSU) functionaries on December 18. The event was called off soon after the V-C objected to certain lines in the oath rendered by T.V. Amardev, chairperson-designate, and Students Federation of India (SFI) leader.
In the complaint, UDSF chairman Alan Jacob and convener Faizal Thadathil said that the chairperson-designate wanted to take the oath in the name of the “martyrs who lost their lives in the struggles for the creation of a new world order”. That was a violation of the university rules and existing laws. The attempt was to “politicise” a “democratically elected students’ union” during the swearing-in ceremony, which was against the “democratic legacy” of the university. The UDSF leaders also alleged that an arrest warrant was pending against Mr. Amardev for attacking Kerala Students’ Union activists during the DSU election held on the campus. His participation in the event itself was a serious lapse, they alleged.
The UDSF leaders demanded that Mr. Amardev should not be allowed to take oath in view of the case pending against him. If the ceremony has to be held, the oath taking should be in the official format, they said, urging the authorities to inform police about the circumstances leading to Mr. Amardev’s participation in the event. At the same time, sources in the V-C’s office said that the union functionaries had been informed well in advance about the official format of the oath.
Meanwhile, SFI leaders on the campus said that Mr. Amardev has filed an anticipatory bail application in the court, which is expected to be taken up in the coming days. They also claimed that the police case against him is politically motivated.