Pune University withdraws notification for ‘Voice of Devendra’ contest named after CM

Congress’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), was among the student groups that held protests against the competition on Tuesday

Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) on Tuesday withdrew a notification for an elocution competition named “Voice of Devendra” after chief minister Devendra Fadnavis amid protests over the move.

NSUI leader Siddhant Jambhulkar alleged it was part of an effort to promote personality worship. (Sourced)

Congress’s student wing, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), was among the student groups that held protests over the competition on Tuesday. The protesters shouted slogans and demanded the resignation of acting National Social Scheme (NSS) director Sadanand Bhosale. They sought an assurance that no politically-linked events would be organised on campus.

Private organisations Swarambh Foundation, IFELLOW Foundation, and Nashik Pratisthan wrote to SPPU’s NSS wing seeking to hold the competition in Fadnavis’s honour. The competition was announced on August 5, appealing to students to participate.

NSUI leader Siddhant Jambhulkar alleged it was part of a larger effort to promote political personality worship on campus. “The NSS was founded on [first Prime Minister] Pandit [Jawaharlal] Nehru’s vision of nation building. Its purpose is social service and national integration, not the worship of any political individual,” said Jambhulkar.

Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar lawmaker Pawar Pawar said universities are temples of education and should not be part of any political agenda. “Instead of political personality worship, universities should focus on improving academic quality.” Pawar accused the university of “double standards” for denying involvement while retracting the notice. He warned he would “expose all such cases” of political influence in the university.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sushma Andhare questioned whether the autonomy of universities had been “mortgaged”.

Bhosale said SPPU was not organising the event. “This contest was not to be held on the campus or in affiliated colleges. We only issued the communication at their [organisers’] request. The circular has now been withdrawn and removed from the website,” Bhosale said.

Bhosale said similar competitions have been conducted earlier as well. “This event was not going to be held on the university campus or in any affiliated colleges.”

Vaibhav Solankar, the competition’s state coordinator, accused Pawar of spreading misinformation and denied any political motive.