The protesters, who have been on strike since 24 June last year over delays in announcing the university union election results, bypassed three-tier security to storm the VC's office at 1.30 pm on Monday, and took it hostage for two hours.
Published Feb 05, 2025 | 12:25 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 05, 2025 | 12:25 PM
Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar.
Synopsis: The Kerala Governor has sought a report on the protest and the subsequent damages caused by SFI activists at the Kerala University campus. He also sought an explanation from the registrar regarding the lapse in security. The protestors are seeking the formation of the student’s union in the university.
Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar sought a report from the Thiruvananthapuram District Collector and Kerala University Vice-Chancellor (VC) Dr Mohanan Kunnummal regarding the blockade of his chamber during a recent protest by the activists of the Student Federation of India (SFI), sources said on Wednesday, 5 February.
The protesters, who have been on strike since 24 June last year over delays in announcing the university union election results, bypassed three-tier security to storm the VC’s office at 1.30 pm on Monday, and took it hostage for two hours.
Posters portraying the VC as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief were pasted inside. The police registered cases against 14 SFI activists and let them off. However, no case has been registered for property damage.
The VC, who handed over images of the incident to the Governor, issued a memo to University Registrar Dr Anil Kumar and demanded an explanation for the security lapse and the failure to inform the police.
He had earlier instructed the removal of SFI’s protest tent from the Senate House campus. Meanwhile, the university has refrained from action against security personnel who permitted the tent’s installation.
With three election-related cases pending in the Kerala High Court, the university is unable to declare its results. The VC, in an affidavit, cited the destruction of election documents during earlier clashes as the reason and said that the election to a few union seats was disrupted.
SFI insists that the student union be formed before this year’s university youth festival. The university engineer has been directed to assess the damage to the VC’s office. This marks the first time the new Governor has intervened in university affairs.
According to officials in the university, it is the first time that a student union has erected a protest pandal inside the Senate House campus.
According to reports, the SFI workers allegedly have the backing of pro-Left members of the Syndicate who are at loggerheads with the VC on various issues.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil with inputs from Sreelakshmin Soman.)
