Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has written to AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge protesting the police action against student members of SFI.Vijayan said the students were peacefully protesting outside Kerala University over the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram. He also criticised the policies of the Congress-led UDF govt, alleging that they are favourable to the Sangh Parivar agenda.Vijayan said the police had carried out a brutal lathicharge on the students without any provocation. He alleged that male officers assaulted female students, describing it as a serious violation of the law.He said that, from the time of the national movement, a consensus had existed in the country to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram in order to protect India’s pluralistic society and constitutional values. “However, the Sangh Parivar is now attempting to break this consensus, which has been in place for more than 80 years, and make the singing of the entire song compulsory,” he said.The Congress-led state govt, he alleged, is adopting the same position.Vijayan said the Congress, which supports student protests at the national level and opposes the repression allegedly carried out by the Union govt and Delhi Police, is dealing with students in Kerala in a fascist manner. He also claimed that Sonia Gandhi had expressed displeasure over the singing of the full version of Vande Mataram at the AICC headquarters. However, in Kerala, the Congress govt is attempting to appease the Sangh Parivar, he alleged.By agreeing in court to amend the University Act in accordance with the UGC regulations, the state govt has accepted the governor’s complete dominance over universities, Vijayan said. This, he alleged, is evidence that the state govt had surrendered to the efforts of the Union govt and the Sangh Parivar to bring universities under their control.In his letter, Vijayan urged the AICC president to intervene immediately and ensure that the Congress leadership in Kerala abandoned its policy of appeasing the Sangh Parivar and stopped police action against students.
