Thiruvananthapuram:
Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Wednesday hit back at Leader of Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan over the controversy surrounding Vice-Chancellors attending an RSS-linked programme, accusing the former Chief Minister of adopting double standards on the issue.
Addressing the media in Thiruvananthapuram, Satheesan said that during Vijayan’s tenure as Chief Minister, four Vice-Chancellors had attended RSS programmes. He further alleged that one of those Vice-Chancellors was widely known to be a CPI(M) supporter, yet neither the then Chief Minister nor the government publicly condemned the participation.
The Chief Minister said that unlike the previous government, he had immediately termed the latest incident “unfortunate” and publicly condemned it. His remarks came after Vijayan said that the government’s response was inadequate and that the matter was a serious one.
“I want to remind the Leader of Opposition that when he was the Chief Minister, the then Higher Education Minister did not even condemn such incidents. In fact, the minister had stated that it was the prerogative of Vice-Chancellors to attend programmes in their personal capacity,” Satheesan said.
Calling the criticism from the Opposition a “farce”, the Chief Minister maintained that his government had taken a clear stand on the issue from the outset.
Satheesan said that Vice-Chancellors were expected to uphold the secular values of the state’s higher education system and should refrain from participating in programmes organised by communal organisations.
“The participation of Vice-Chancellors in such events leaves a scar on Kerala’s secular legacy. Vice-Chancellors are not expected to attend communal programmes,” he said.
The remarks come amid a political row over the participation of some university Vice-Chancellors in a recent RSS-linked event with Mohan Bhagwat as chief guest, with both the ruling front and the Opposition trading charges over the issue.
