A message on a students’ WhatsApp group of Jain College, V.V. Puram, trying to mobilise students of the college for a rally taken out by Tejasvi Surya, Bengaluru South BJP MP, to file his nomination papers on Thursday, April 4, created a stir.
Karnataka Youth Congress and National Students’ Union of India (NSUI) lodged a complaint against Mr. Surya with the Election Returning Officer, Bengaluru South constituency, alleging that using college students for campaigning was a violation of Model Code of Conduct. Meanwhile, Jain (Deemed to be) University has ordered a probe into the messages sent.
The message was allegedly posted by a student asking other students to attend Mr. Surya’s rally on Thursday. It said, “Everyone has to be there at the reporting time and no excuses will be entertained. You will be getting attendance for this.” Another message said that Mr. Tejasvi Surya had “obliged the student council” by attending a college fest, and therefore, it is the students’ turn to do the same. “This is why it is compulsory for us to be there tomorrow (April 4) as a council and nothing else,” it read.
