THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: LDF convenor E P Jayarajan on Monday came out in support of State Youth Commission chairperson Chintha Jerome who is in the eye of a storm over her erroneous PhD thesis. He blamed the controversy on a vested plan to hound a budding youth leader. He also accused the Congress for the row.
“This is a Congress agenda to eliminate upcoming leaders of the CPM. They are being subjected to targeted attacks. This is aimed at preventing their political growth,” he said in a Facebook post. EP also sought to console Chintha — though by not naming her — saying there is no one who does not commit mistakes. “Is there anyone who doesn’t commit mistakes while writing or using phrases?” he asked.
“Amid the much good work, some mistakes may occur unwittingly. Without approaching these issues humanely, here the controversy has been kicked up to attack Chintha,” he said.
The Congress students’ wing, the KSU, meanwhile, continued its protest against Chintha. Activists, led by state president Aloysius Xavier, marched with stalks of banana to the office of the Youth Welfare Commission. Chintha’s thesis had erroneously named Vyloppilli Sreedhara Menon as the author of the poem Vazhakkula, originally written by Changampuzha Krishna Pillai.
Police put up barricades outside the commission office gate to hinder protesters. Despite the precautions, a scuffle broke out between KSU activists and the police. Speaking at the picket line, Aloysius said the Chintha episode is the latest example of the state government’s bad policies in the higher education sector.