Police action against SFI: Pinarayi urges Mallikarjun Kharge to stop Congress-led Kerala govt from ‘pandering to Sangh Parivar’

Pinarayi Vijayan Photo Credit: ANI

Kerala opposition leader Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge registering his protest against “violent police action against protesting activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI) in Kerala University” and also condemned the policies of the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government in Kerala, which Mr Vijayan alleged was pandering to the Parvara Sanghi agenda.

Mr. Vijayan said it was no provocation for the police to resort to “violent” lathicharge on students who were peacefully protesting the full extradition of Vande Mataram outside the university premises. Female police officers were not around when the female students were assaulted by male police officers. According to him, this was a gross violation of the law.

Since the days of the national movement, a consensus has been reached to sing only the first two stanzas of Vande Mataram to preserve the plurality of Indian society and constitutional values. But when the Sangh Parivar tries to break this consensus, which has been in place for more than 80 years, the Congress-led government in the state is helping it, Mr. Vijayan alleged.

“fascist” approach

While the Congress supports the student protests nationwide and opposes the repressive measures of the Center and the Delhi Police, it is handling the student protests in Kerala in a “fascist manner”. Sonia Gandhi expressed dismay at the complete release of Vande Mataram at the AICC headquarters. But in Kerala, the Congress-led government is trying to appease the Sangh Parivar, Mr. Vijayan said.

By agreeing in court to amend university laws in line with UGC norms, the Kerala state government has vested full authority over state-run universities with the governor. This shows that the government has absolutely given up on attempts by the Center and the Sangh Parivar to gain a grip on the universities, Vijayan said in the letter.

He urged Mr. Kharge to intervene urgently to stop the Congress government in Kerala from “pursuing its policy of appeasement” of the Sangh Parivar and unleashing police atrocities on students.

Published – 05 Sep 2026 14:57 IST