UDF govt. hounding students who protested against Centre, says Pinarayi

Kerala Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has come down hard on Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan for dealing with the issue of the police crackdown on student protesters in Kerala over the NEET question paper leak, in a “perfunctory” manner.He said it was a matter of grave concern that Kerala has been bracketed along with seven other States, which have been issued notices by the Supreme Court, seeking their official responses regarding widespread violence and allegations of police excesses following the crackdown on the nationwide student protests linked to the NEET exam paper leak.In his statement, Mr. Vijayan said Kerala found itself grouped alongside BJP-ruled States — Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, and Delhi — whose Chief Secretaries have been asked to respond about the police action against students.He alleged that the zeal shown by the UDF government in Kerala to hound students who had participated in the protests against the Centre was unmatched by even the other 13 BJP-ruled States or the two Union Territories.Letter to CMMr. Vijayan had earlier written to Mr. Satheesan, demanding the unconditional withdrawal of all police cases filed against those who protested in Kerala in solidarity with the student agitation. He said that while the decision on withdrawing the cases is a policy matter for the Chief Minister to decide, at the media conference on Wednesday, Mr. Satheesan offered only a perfunctory explanation, that Mr. Vijayan’s letter had been forwarded to the Home department for action.In doing so, Mr. Satheesan failed to state his own government’s position on the issue, which has great public importance, Mr. Vijayan alleged. He said that he had also written a few days ago to All India Congress Committee (AICC) president Mallikarjun Kharge, seeking to bring to the attention of the Congress’s national leadership, “the unethical stance” taken by the UDF government in Kerala on the issue.In that letter, Mr. Vijayan had pointed out what he claimed was an inconsistency in the Congress party’s approach. He said that while all leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, supported students protesting in Delhi, the Congress government in Kerala had branded students as criminals and had registered several baseless cases against individuals who participated in peaceful solidarity gatherings supporting the protests.‘5,000 cases’Mr. Vijayan said in the letter that more than 5,000 cases have been reportedly registered against the students and youth in the State in connection with the same. These were democratic assemblies and cultural events aimed at amplifying the voices of the protesting students. Shockingly, cases have been slapped even on artists and cultural activists who participated in these peaceful solidarity programmes.Even though the Centre chose to back down, the Congress-led State government in Kerala has shown no willingness yet to withdraw these unjustified cases. This blatant double standard sends a deeply contradictory message which may result in suppression of freedom of expression and the democratic right to dissent, Mr. Vijayan had noted in his letter to Mr. Kharge, seeking his urgent intervention to quash the police cases filed against students and activists in Kerala over the NEET question paper leak protests. Published - July 29, 2026 08:09 pm IST