Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Sunday condemned the reported assault on four students from Kerala at the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) in Madhya Pradesh.
Thiruvananthapuram,UPDATED: Mar 13, 2023 03:31 IST
File photo of Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan | PTI
By Press Trust of India: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan on Sunday condemned the reported assault on four students from the state at the Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) in Madhya Pradesh and said the growing hostility towards individuals based on their identities should be resisted.
While Vijayan tweeted condemning the assault on the students, Satheesan shot off a letter to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan seeking his intervention in the matter. The leaders were responding to a few news reports which said that four Kerala students were allegedly beaten up by the security staff on March 10 at the Amarkantak campus of the varsity in Madhya Pradesh.
“Attacks on Keralite students at @IGNTU are appalling & highlight the need to resist the growing hostility towards individuals based on their identities in our country. The university must take prompt action against the culprits & ensure the safety of all the students on campus,” Vijayan tweeted.
Satheesan on Sunday shot off a letter to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan and said there were complaints that students from Kerala were constantly being targeted at the university. The Congress leader said the security personnel brutally assaulted the students without provocation and they were admitted in hospital.
“According to the complainants, Kerala students are constantly targeted at IGNTU. Given these circumstances, I respectfully request the urgent intervention of your good self to book the perpetrators so that such incidents do not occur again in the future,” Satheesan said in his letter.
Besides Vijayan and Satheesan, Rajya Sabha MP and Left leader John Brittas also sought strong action with regard to the incident and wrote a letter to Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
“Premeditated attacks on Kerala students at Indira Gandhi National Tribal University highlights the need to address organised hostility against Keralite students based on their regional, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds. Urgent action is needed to ensure their safety on campus,” Brittas tweeted.
In his letter, the Rajya Sabha MP said the students were brutally assaulted by the “so-called security staff” for taking selfies atop a water tank. He said the attack was part of the organised series of hostile actions against the Kerala students who are being targeted for their regional, linguistic and ethnic backgrounds.
