A press release issued by the outgoing PUTA secretary M. Rajiv Lochan stated that Keshav Malhotra of the Department of Evening Studies and Sudhir Kumar also from the DES had been elected unopposed as treasurer and executive member, respectively, after several nomination papers were withdrawn today.

The release added: ``Professors S.C. Kaushal, S.K. Gupta, Raj Pal Sharma and Sahib Singh Bhayan appended a note to their various letters of withdrawal saying that their withdrawal from the various posts for which they had filed their nomination was in protest against the nomination papers of Prof S.K. Gupta for the post of president and Raj Pal Sharma for the post of vice-president.''

A separate release issued by S.C. Kaushal and Sahib Singh Bhayana stated that the rejection was on ``flimsy grounds'' and their withdrawals were in protest against the ``high-headedness of the PUTA leadership.''