KOCHI: The unruly scenes witnessed at Kerala Assembly on Friday has not gone down well with some of the young leaders. At least a few of the students’ union members, who are leaders in their own circle, look upto these MLAs as role models. A few of them expressed their stance over the method of protest and way it was tackled by both fronts.
The Youth of Kerala, who have led a variety of protests like Kiss of Love and online campaigns, had different opinions when it came to the actions of the leaders at the Assembly on Thursday.
“What the Opposition did was one that puts the state in shame. The Finance Minister was only doing his duty. They should have let Mani present the budget. They can protest in a democratic way,” said V Shain, unit secretary, Kerala Students Union, Governement Law college.
The students wing of some parties however justified the leaders’ behaviour to some extent.
“It was not just one party that took to unruly behaviour in the Assembly. It is not fair to blame just one of them. The Finance Minister should not have presented the budget since he has been accused of corruption. The UDF did not pay heed to any of the Opposition’s demands that were reasonable enough,” said Nasil, union chairman, Maharaja’s college.
Meanwhile, another section of students had stayed neutral stating that if they had been in that place they would have taken out protests in different ways.
“They are supposed to be our role model, who we will observe and learn. They should set examples for the younger generation. Whichever be the party, violence and unruly behaviour cannot be accepted. We, as students, also take out protests. When there is a problem on campus, we talk to students and staff members and find an amicable solution. Even then if it doesn’t work out, we take out different kinds of protests, all of which are democratic and peaceful. I cannot say they have not been successful,” said Ashwin Nair, union chairman, Cochin University of Science and Technology.