Thiruvananthapuram: Amid calls by the Congress and BJP to disband CPI(M)’s student wing—Students’ Federation of India (SFI)—over its alleged involvement in campus violence, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Wednesday backed the organisation and asked it to continue its work without “committing any wrongdoing”.
Inaugurating SFI’s 35th state conference, the CM said, “If there is any small issue against the SFI, the Right-wing media is ready to blow it up and report it. You should continue the good work you are doing now. Do not commit any wrongdoing. Question the wrong things and safeguard the SFI’s uniqueness.”
This public meeting was followed by a rally attended by hundreds of SFI members.
CM Vijayan said the organisation is actively intervening in many national issues and the saffronisation of education.
“SFI witnessed many martyrs over the years during many protests. It lost many students. KSU (Kerala Students Union) and RSS attacked it. We lost Dheeraj (Rajendran) and they are still justifying it,” he said, adding that the media ignores incidents where SFI members are attacked.
KSU is the student wing of the Congress.
Dheeraj Rajendran, a 21-year-old engineering student from Idukki district, was killed in a 2022 campus clash between SFI and KSU workers. He was allegedly stabbed by KSU members during the altercation.
The SFI’s 35th state conference is taking place amid persistent demands from the Congress and BJP to ban the organisation over its alleged involvement in campus violence across the state.
On Tuesday, seven SFI-linked students were suspended from a government college in Kariavattom, Thiruvananthapuram, for allegedly ragging a junior student. Following the suspension, Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president K. Sudhakaran accused the organisation of repeated criminal activities and demanded that the CPI(M) state conference next month dissolve SFI.
He highlighted that the Kariavattom incident came less than a year after the death of Sidharthan, a veterinary science student in Wayanad, who was allegedly ragged by SFI members. The opposition has also accused SFI students of involvement in a recent ragging incident at Kottayam Nursing College. However, SFI State Secretary P.M. Arsho has denied the allegations.
Meanwhile, state BJP chief K. Surendran has accused the government of shielding the students’ organisation despite multiple incidents.
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