Protest against Minister Roji M John: Case registered against SFI activists

KOCHI: A case has been registered against a group of SFI activists who staged a protest against Higher Education Minister Roji M John during a convocation ceremony at Maharaja's College in Ernakulam. The case was registered for allegedly deliberately disrupting a public event.

Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan had earlier condemned the protest, saying that SFI activists behaved like criminals at Maharaja's College. He warned that strict action would be taken against those involved. He said there was no justification for disrupting the convocation ceremony and preventing the minister from completing the event.

Instead of expressing their protest through democratic means, the activists had resorted to hooliganism, Satheesan said. He added that the SFI had ruined in a matter of minutes an event that represented the dreams of students and their parents. The Chief Minister also demanded that the organisation apologise to the students and their families.

The protest forced Roji M John, who was the chief guest, to leave the venue without completing the convocation ceremony. The SFI activists were demanding the withdrawal of the suspension of 16 students of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit, Kalady, who had earlier staged a protest by organising a symbolic funeral procession with a coffin representing Vice-Chancellor Dr Ciza Thomas.

When the minister began his speech, the protesters raised a huge banner from the balcony and displayed placards. By the time he finished speaking, a group of students had reached the stage, surrounded him and demanded a discussion on their concerns. Although the minister said he would respond after the ceremony, the students refused to leave. As the protest intensified, he walked out of the venue. The police were prepared to remove the protesters, but the minister stopped them. He later said he would not give in to hooliganism. More than 500 students and parents attended the convocation ceremony. The gathering included 30 research scholars who received their doctoral degrees from Maharaja's College.