Congress MP’s Parliament statement triggers battle of banners on Kerala campuses

In response, the SFI initially put out a banner in front of two colleges in Kerala: Maharajas College in Ernakulam and the Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram.

The banner read: “Even Indira couldn’t, then how come Eden?”, in a nod at the Emergency declared during the tenure of Indira Gandhi as prime minister.

The KSU unit at the Maharajas College responded with a banner saying, “Indira and Eden are in people’s hearts.”

The response of the KSU unit in the Thiruvananthapuram college roughly translated to: “We have ousted EMS. This is just SFI.”

The dig was at EMS Namboodiripad, the CPI(M) leader who served as the first chief minister of Kerala, whose government was dismissed in 1959 by Jawaharlal Nehru.

The latest banner put out by SFI in Maharajas College mocked the KSU’s response, saying: “Indira is in people’s hearts due to the excesses done during the Emergency.”

SFI’s allegations

Akhil, a student of Maharajas College and the secretary of the SFI unit in the college, told South First that the initial demand to ban the SFI came during the Emergency, and the outfit survived it.

He said Indians remember the Emergency, when there was an autocratic regime where the main slogan was “Indira is India and India is Indira”.

“Hibi Eden was earlier a part of the KSU, an organisation that killed numerous SFI activists in Kerala. He will never demand a ban on communal groups like the BJP, RSS, or the SDPI,” sad Akhil.

When asked about the frequent violence by student organisations on Kerala campuses, Akhil claimed the SFI never entertains violence on campuses and will always stand against it.

Response from the MP

Eden told South First that the Parliament speech was in response to a brutal attack against a girl in the Government Law College in Thiruvananthapuram, allegedly by SFI members.

“This is not just the situation of the KSU. Even AISF (All India Students’ Federation) members are being attacked by the SFI on campuses where they have strength,” claimed Eden.

“A month after this incident was raised in Parliament, the same organisation vandalised the office of Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi. So, my point is very simple: The government should decide whether we need such organisations in the country,” Eden said.

He opined that the current battle of banners was a healthy form of democracy. However, he also alleged that the SFI of using its muscle power to silence dissenting voices on Kerala campuses.

“We (the KSU) have won [students’ body elections] a few times in the Maharajas College in Ernakulam, including the chairperson post, but even if we lose all elections, allow us to do our activism on campus,” he said.

Asked about the SFI’s allegations that he was silent on banning organisations like the BJP and the RSS, Eden said he has always stood against these organisations and has said as much in public numerous times.

Student politics plays a key role on the campuses of Kerala. It has also moulded most of the current leaders of the mainstream political parties, including Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, the Opposition leader VD Satheesan, and former chief minister Oommen Chandy.

South First’s calls to representatives of the KSU were unanswered.