Students unions to start campaign against Modi government

Chennai, Feb 15 A pan-India students and youths associations' collective-Young India National Coordination Committee (YINCC) has said it will begin campaigns next month across the country to vote BJP out of power for "ditching" the student community.

The body, comprising of 42 students and youth associations, includes students' unions of Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Allahabad University and Rajasthan University.

JNU Students Union President (JNUSU) Sai Balaji said the group would start campaigns the nation over from next from now (March), in the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections.

"The present government has clearly ditched us in several ways and we have been bearing the brunt of it. This campaign is also to vote the BJP out of power," Balaji told.

A week ago, a huge number of students and youths of the collective took out a march in the national capital from Red Fort to Parliament Street requesting occupations and better educational opportunities.

"To any new government, our demands would be to fill all vacant post in the administration, offer an instruction advance waiver," Balaji said, referring to a charter released by YINCC.

The charter demands allocation of something like 10 percent on education in the budget, finishing the act of supposed seat-cuts in universities, fee hike, reservation-cut in higher educational institutions.

"End gender discriminatory rules, ensure academic freedom and freedom of expression on campuses, fulfil constitutionally-mandated reservations," it said.