New Delhi: Delhi University has asked students to mandatorily sign up for the NaMo app to register for an event organised on March 7 in which Union minister for women and child development Smriti Irani will be the chief guest.
A poster of the event shared on the Facebook page of Delhi University Teachers states that the Viksit Bharat Ambassador Club’s Nari Shakti Conclave will be held tomorrow [March 7] at the Delhi University stadium in which Irani will be the chief guest.
The poster states that it is mandatory for all students participating in the event to register on the NaMo app. It also adds that only those students who have registered on the app will get “merchandise, refreshments, and certificates.”
The Wire reached out to professor Meena, principal of Kalindi College, whose name and photo is also on the poster. The story will be updated if and when a response is received.
The poster was shared by Naveen Gaur, faculty at Delhi University’s Dyal Singh College.
Sharing the poster, Gaur wrote that the issue is that the poster mandates participants to register on the NaMo app.
“There could be that some people want to participate in the activity but may not want to register on the NaMo app. Yes, DU rules mandate that the information about the participants should be provided beforehand and this can be done without registering on the NaMo app. Such directives from DU should be avoided,” he wrote.
The privacy policy of the NaMo app community states the following: “Collaboration, community-building and connecting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi are the main pillars of the Narendra Modi App i.e. NaMo App. (‘App’). The NaMo App is a ‘one of its kind’ app which is powered by supporters & fans of PM Modi, volunteers & grass-root workers themselves. You are joining millions of users of this community who aspire for a New India.”
It states that the app allows users to “interact directly with PM Modi, contribute to nation building through various ways and connect with different communities such as ‘Exam Warriors’.”
“The NaMo App keeps you updated about the initiatives and achievements of the government led by PM Modi. You can also connect with fellow volunteers and organise various events and initiatives. You can take part in different surveys and various movements like ‘Fit India’, ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’, ‘I Am New India’, ‘Swachh Bharat’ etc.”
To provide “a tailor-made and personalised experience”, the information shared on the app “maybe processed and analysed by third party services who are engaged by us with due confidentiality obligations and solely for the specific purpose of such services”, says the privacy policy.
“This will help the app give you the best possible experience by showing content in your language and according to your interests. For example, based on the location data collected, you may get a push notification when PM Modi is in your state or [when] there is an important initiative or event happening in your state. Similarly, based on your previous interactions within the app, you may receive push notifications based on your interests in the future,” it states.
This is a “covert election campaign,” said Nandita Narain, former president of DUTA and FEDCUTA, and president of the Democratic Teachers’ Front, and chairperson of the Joint Forum for Movement on Education.
“This is a covert election campaign and mandatory participation makes it coercive. All our (Delhi University) official spaces are being used for such activities and such use on the eve of the general elections is highly inappropriate,” she told The Wire.
In June last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the Delhi University during its centenary celebrations, had said that the institution should make India “Viksit Bharat”.
“The goal of Delhi University should be to make India ‘Viksit Bharat’ (developed India),” he had said.
The standard operating procedures for universities on Delhi University’s Viksit Bharat 2047 page say that”‘Viksit Bharat@2047 is the vision of the Government of India to make India a developed nation by 2047, the 100th year of its independence.”
It urges the participation of the youth, and also says that the “Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education will lead the communication and outreach in this regard.”