Chandigarh: ‘It’s first of many wins’, says MP Thakur as Sohal takes prez oath

While, an official oath taking ceremony was organised by the PU authorities at the Department of Zoology, where along with Sohal, vice-president Ashmeet Singh and secretary Abhishek Dagar took oath, a separate programme was organised by ABVP in the evening at the Law Auditorium, with MP Thakur as the chief guest

Chandigarh This will be the first of many wins for the largest student body of the world, said Hamirpur member of Parliament (MP) Anurag Thakur as Gauravveer Singh Sohal of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) took oath of the president of the Panjab University Campus Students Council (PUCSC) on Thursday. Sohal is the first ABVP member to become PUCSC president in five decades.

From left: ABVP national secretary Virendra Solanki, Hamirpur MP Anurag Thakur, PUCSC president Gauravveer Singh Sohal and PU V-C Renu Vig on Thursday. (HT Photo)

While, an official oath taking ceremony was organised by the PU authorities at the Department of Zoology, where along with Sohal, vice-president Ashmeet Singh and secretary Abhishek Dagar took oath, a separate programme was organised by ABVP in the evening at the Law Auditorium, with MP Thakur as the chief guest.

Joint secretary Mohit Manderana was busy in relief work in Punjab and skipped the ceremony. He said he will take the oath in the dean students welfare (DSW) office later. The vice-chancellor congratulated the office bearers and asked them to support universities efforts against drug abuse and other initiatives.

In the evening event, MP Thakur told students that it is way bigger than just winning the PU polls for them. “It’s not just about Panjab University. The whole country is paying attention to what you (students) have achieved. The supporters of ‘Mao’ and the ‘Soros Gang’ are unhappy with this performance,” he said.

The Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) is also scheduled for September 18. As ABVP has already announced their candidates for DUSU on Thursday, MP Thakur said the ABVP will repeat PU’s performance in the DUSU polls as well.

Sohal had worn a turban for his swearing-in and had also used Punjabi chants and slogans while on stage. While listening to Sohal talk about his manifesto, MP Thakur mentioned their demand to get a synthetic athletics track made in PU and said he himself will approach the Union ministry of sports to get this done.

MP Thakur also criticised the opposition, saying that they lost the vice-presidential elections which were conducted on paper ballots despite their complaints about EVM machines earlier. He also questioned where their loyalties lay in believing other countries over the Indian Army, and criticised their stance regarding Operation Sindoor and the recent tariff war.

Thakur himself has a Punjab connection as he was brought up in Punjab and had done his bachelor’s degree from Doaba College, Jalandhar. He drew applause from the crowd as he addressed them in Punjabi.

Executive members of PUCSC also elected

Five executive members of the PUCSC were also elected on Thursday. This includes Aakanksha Thakur of biophysics, Kismat Palsra of PU-ISSER, Priya of Department of Laws, Ravkaran Singh of Defence Department and Shivnandan Rikhee of Department of Statistics.