Kerala Opposition Leader Pinarayi Vijayan Urges Kharge to Intervene Over SFI Student Protest Crackdown

Kerala Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, requesting his intervention in what Mr Vijayan described as the violent police action against students of the Students Federation of India (SFI) at the University of Kerala. In the letter, Mr Vijayan alleged that the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in the state was pandering to the agenda of the Sangh Parivar.

The protest was organised by the SFI, the student wing of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), against the full rendition of Vande Mataram near the university building. Mr Vijayan stated that the police resorted to a lathicharge without provocation on students who were peacefully protestating. He also claimed that male police personnel attacked female students when no women police personnel were present, which he called a flagrant violation of the law.

Mr Vijayan recalled a long-standing consensus in the country, dating back to the national movement, to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram. This consensus, he said, was reached to preserve the plurality of Indian society and uphold constitutional values. He alleged that while the Sangh Parivar was attempting to breach this consensus, the Congress-led government in Kerala was aiding such attempts.

The letter further accused the state government of following a “fascist approach” to student protests in Kerala, even as the Congress party nationally claimed to support student demonstrations and criticise the Centre’s and the Delhi Police’s actions. Mr Vijayan pointed out that Congress leader Sonia Gandhi had expressed dismay over the full rendition of Vande Mataram at the All India Congress Committee headquarters. However, in Kerala, the state government was trying to appease the Sangh Parivar, he claimed.

Mr Vijayan also raised concerns about the state government’s decision to amend university laws in accordance with University Grants Commission (UGC) norms. He said this concession, made in court, effectively handed over full authority over state-run universities to the Governor. This, he argued, demonstrated an absolute surrender to attempts by the Centre and the Sangh Parivar to gain control over higher education institutions in Kerala.

Urging Mr Kharge to act, Mr Vijayan asked the Congress president to restrain the Kerala government from pursuing its policy of appeasing the Sangh Parivar and from unleashing police atrocities on students. There was no immediate response from the Congress leadership or the Kerala government to the allegations made in the letter.

The Vande Mataram controversy has been a recurring issue in Indian politics. The song, composed by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, has been associated with nationalist movements, but its full version has been a point of contention due to religious sensitivities. Historically, the practice of singing only the first two stanzas has been followed in many official settings to maintain communal harmony.