SFI protest disrupts graduation ceremony; Kerala minister walks out

Kochi: A graduation ceremony at Maharaja's College in Kochi was thrown into disarray on Friday after SFI activists stormed the stage and surrounded Higher Education Minister, Roji M. John, forcing him to abandon his speech and walk out.

The protest was over the suspension of 16 students of Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit at Kalady, with the activists demanding their immediate reinstatement and questioning the action taken against them.

The incident occurred while the minister was addressing the gathering at the college's graduation ceremony.

Students carrying banners and placards came on to the stage and surrounded him, turning the formal academic event into a heated confrontation.

A woman student took the microphone and questioned the minister, saying the suspended students had been barred from entering the Kalady campus for the past 60 days.

She challenged the government's description of their agitation as violent and asked what was wrong with a play staged by students as part of their protest.

The students also took strong exception to the minister's earlier description of the suspended students as 'uncivilised'.

Although the minister initially said he would respond to their concerns after the ceremony, the protesters continued to raise questions.

College authorities switched off the microphone used by the student, but the activists continued their confrontation.

The intervention of women police personnel, who tried to remove the student from the stage, further heightened tensions.

John told the protesters that everyone had the right to demonstrate in a democracy and that there was no need to lower their banners.

However, he made it clear that the government and the Higher Education Department would not accept violence in the name of protest, irrespective of the organisation involved.

Describing the agitation at Kalady as outright violence, he said such actions, including attempts to disrupt Syndicate meetings, could not be allowed on university campuses.

He also declared that he would not be intimidated by protests or yield to pressure.

As the noise grew, the minister's attempts to respond proved futile.

He eventually left the stage without completing his speech.

The protest later spread outside the venue, prompting police intervention.

The SFI Ernakulam district secretary maintained that the protest was peaceful and that the organisation had neither intended to disrupt the ceremony nor attack the minister.

Its objective, he said, was to secure answers to the students' questions.

The organisation alleged that 16 students were suspended for participating in a play staged during an agitation seeking basic facilities on the Kalady campus.

It has also demanded the filling of vacant teaching posts, access to clean drinking water and the reinstatement of the suspended students, besides alleging delays in issuing certificates and a shortage of teachers in some departments.

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