The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of the RSS, mobilised within hours of the Satya Niketan tragedy and took its protest to the headquarters of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on Sunday. The organisation demanded the resignation of the MCD Commissioner, action against officials responsible for civic lapses and a safety audit of student accommodations across Delhi.
The protest escalated when demonstrators entered the civic body premises, leading to a confrontation with police. Several protesters were detained.
ABVP general secretary Virendra Solanki said the MCD Commissioner should immediately step down, questioning his administrative competence.
“The MCD Commissioner is not fit to hold such a critical position and should resign immediately. This is the same officer who was earlier shunted following the controversy over walking his dog at a stadium. His record raises serious questions about his administrative competence. Delhi cannot afford such leadership when lives are at stake,” Solanki said.
He added that the organisation would continue its protest until punitive measures were taken.
The Satya Niketan building was being used as a boys’ PG and housed students in an area with a large number of such accommodations. Preliminary assessments raised questions over unauthorised construction, including work in the basement. Reports also indicated that the building did not have a sanctioned plan or a fire NOC.
The reported excavation and renovation work at the site has intensified questions about how the building was allowed to operate while allegedly lacking required approvals.
“Why was excavation work being carried out in the basement in the first place? Who authorised it? Was it being carried out in compliance with building and safety regulations? These questions demand immediate answers. We demand the immediate registration of an FIR against the concerned officials, the building owners and the zone heads. Those responsible for the negligence and regulatory lapses that contributed to this tragedy must be identified and held accountable without delay,” Solanki said.
The ABVP’s demands have shifted the focus from the collapse itself to the wider regulatory and administrative questions surrounding the building. The organisation is seeking criminal accountability for officials, building owners and zone heads, while demanding action through the administrative hierarchy up to the MCD Commissioner.
The protest also carries political significance because the ABVP, often viewed through its ideological proximity to the RSS and its political front, the BJP, is positioning itself in this case as an accuser of Delhi’s civic machinery. Its target is the inspectors, engineers, zone-level officials and administrative hierarchy responsible for enforcing building norms.
The agitation is also being seen as an outreach to the young generation, which appeared to have moved away from the organisation after the NEET protests at Jantar Mantar.
The central issue remains the safety of students living in PGs and rented accommodation around university campuses across Delhi. The Satya Niketan tragedy has raised questions over how unauthorised construction, excavation and other alleged regulatory violations could continue without timely enforcement action.
The ABVP is now making those questions the basis of its campaign for accountability. Its demand for the MCD Commissioner’s resignation places responsibility at the highest administrative level, while its demand for FIRs against officials, building owners and zone heads seeks to move the matter beyond compensation and condolences towards criminal responsibility.
“Six students have lost their lives. This cannot be reduced to an accident. There must be accountability from the officials on the ground to the top administrative level,” Solanki added.
The six deaths have therefore transformed the Satya Niketan protest from a campus agitation into a wider demand for accountability over student accommodation, civic enforcement and the alleged regulatory lapses surrounding the tragedy.
About The Author
Comment List