Pinarayi alleges 'propaganda' guiding UDF government over Kalady student protest

Ernakulam: Opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan has accused the UDF government of adopting Nazi propaganda tactics to suppress student protests at Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit in Kalady, alleging that the authorities were deliberately spreading false narratives to justify the suspension of students.

Following his meeting with the suspended students at the university, he wrote a Facebook post expressing solidarity with the protesting students. Pinarayi said the government's approach resembled the propaganda methods of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi regime's chief propagandist, rather than the ideals of Jawaharlal Nehru.

He alleged that Higher Education Minister Roji M John had taken the lead in portraying a street play staged by students as an attack on Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas. The university authorities and the government had propagated allegations that students physically attacked the VC without evidence, he claimed.

Pinarayi compared the allegations to Nazi propaganda that blamed Communists for the Reichstag fire in Germany, accusing the government of distorting facts for political gains.

He also criticised the university's insistence that suspended students submit written apologies as a condition for reinstatement, comparing the demand to V D Savarkar's mercy petitions to the British during the freedom struggle.

The controversy dates back to August 13, when students staged a protest during a university Syndicate meeting, raising concerns over infrastructure deficiencies, drinking water shortages, hostel restrictions and vacant faculty positions.

As part of the agitation, Theatre Department students staged a street play depicting the symbolic death of their neglected department. The university, however, maintained that the performance was a derogatory mock funeral targeting Vice-Chancellor Ciza Thomas.

There were also allegations of the students physically intimidating the VC, obstructing her vehicle and causing damage to it as she left the university after the meeting. The students disputed the allegations, maintaining that their protest was directed against the neglect of the Theatre Department and its non-functional stage lighting.

Following the incident, police registered cases against 19 people, including SFI activists. The university suspended 16 students on September 1, pending disciplinary proceedings.

The suspended students, comprising six research scholars, seven postgraduate students and three undergraduate students, approached the Kerala High Court challenging the action and seeking permission to attend examinations.

High Court proceedings
The legal battle intensified after a single bench of the Kerala High Court on October 30 permitted the students to appear for semester examinations scheduled to begin on November 4.

However, a Division Bench set aside the interim order on November 3, observing that the students' eligibility under the university's attendance and internal assessment regulations had not been adequately considered. The court also noted that the statutory requirements could not be bypassed without examining the issue of attendance shortage and its possible condonation.

The students subsequently approached the Supreme Court, which on November 5 referred their main petition back to the High Court for expedited consideration. The university gave an undertaking that special examinations would be conducted if the students eventually succeeded in their legal challenge.

Meanwhile, the university Syndicate decided to revoke the suspension of 12 students if they submitted written apologies, while extending the suspension of the remaining four by two months. The students rejected the proposal, saying an apology would amount to accepting allegations they disputed.

On November 11, Justice P V Kunhikrishnan questioned the university's insistence on apologies, asking whether 60 days of suspension was not sufficient punishment, even assuming there had been misconduct. The court urged the university to resolve the dispute rather than prolong the students' academic difficulties.

'A struggle for democracy and secularism'
Pinarayi alleged that the issue extended beyond a university-level dispute, describing it as part of a larger struggle against attempts to reshape Kerala's higher education sector in accordance with Sangh Parivar interests.

He accused the UDF government of facilitating such moves and said the students' refusal to apologise reflected their commitment to self-respect and freedom.

Stating that the students' hunger strike had entered its 12th day, Pinarayi called for justice for those suspended and said the success of their struggle was essential for safeguarding democracy and secularism in Kerala.