THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: AICC General Secretary K C Venugopal on Monday criticised three vice-chancellors of Kerala universities for attending an event hosted by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat, alleging that the move reflected an attempt to align the state’s higher education sector with the RSS.
The vice-chancellors of Kerala University, Mahatma Gandhi University and Malayalam University attended the RSS centenary celebrations held in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday.
In a Facebook post, the Alappuzha MP said Kerala’s higher education system, known for its academic standards, secular outlook and democratic values, was being pushed towards the RSS ideology.
He alleged that those expected to uphold neutrality in academia were instead supporting the organisation’s agenda.
“It is a matter of shame for Kerala that these three vice-chancellors continue to head universities,” he said.
Venugopal further said the vice-chancellors should resign and openly associate themselves with the RSS rather than maintaining what he described as a pretence of academic neutrality.
He argued that individuals influenced by RSS ideology were unfit to lead major educational institutions and demanded their immediate resignation.
The Congress leader also warned of strong protests from those committed to secular and constitutional values if they failed to step down.
He added that leadership of universities with strong academic traditions required commitment to academic excellence, secularism, democracy and the Constitution, not allegiance to any organisation.
Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of the Opposition in the Kerala Assembly also criticised the vice-chancellors for attending the event, while BJP leaders defended them and accused the opposition of appeasement politics.
(With inputs from PTI)