Decision on Utkal University students’ union poll tomorrow

Reported by Santosh Jagdev
Bhubaneswar, Sep 30:

The advisory committee of Utkal University in Odisha has left the decision on whether or not elections will be held for the students’ union this year to the Post Graduate (PG) Council of the university.

The PG Council will take call on the issue at a meeting to be presided over by its Chairman Ranjan Kumar Bal tomorrow.

The outcomes on restoring of the  poll which was cancelled earlier in capital will be made final after the PG council chairman Ranjan Kumar Bal takes a decision on this issue tomorrow.

The decision to leave the final say on the issue to the PG Council was taken at a meeting of the Advisory committee of the students’ union this afternoon, which was attended by Utkal University vice-chancellor Prof Ashok Kumar Das, PG council chairman Mr Bal, students’ union advisor Prof Jayanta Parida and registrar Prof SK Das in the presence of student leaders.

“The officials in the advisory committee said PG council is the superior authority, which can decide whether there is any possibility to hold election in the university or not. We will respect the final decision of the PG council chairman, which will be announced it tomorrow,” said Prof Parida.

Biju Chhara Janata Dal (BCJD) presidential nominee Amit Kumar Jena was optimistic about the outcome of tomorrow’s PG Council meeting, saying; “It will be a great day for us tomorrow as the PG council will announce the fate of students’ union election in the university. We are sure that the authorities would reconsider their decision not to hold elections,”

Meanwhile, hundreds of supporters of BCJD today gheraoed the Vice Chancellor’s office in the university demanding reconsideration of decision to cancel the elections.

Protests broke out after university authorities announced that students’ union elections will not be held this year in view of repeated incidents of violence in the recent past.