THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has urged the Centre and state government to intervene urgently to ensure the safety and safe return of more than 1,500 students from Kerala at Lovely Professional University (LPU) in Punjab, following protests on the campus.
In a Facebook post, Pinarayi said the developments at the university should be viewed with “utmost seriousness”. He said students had launched protests following allegations that a female student had been subjected to sexual assault.
Pinarayi alleged that university founder and Chancellor and BJP MP Ashok Kumar Mittal and the management had sought to suppress the protests using the police and “Sangh Parivar goons”. He called for strong protests against the alleged action and demanded a comprehensive and transparent investigation.
He also sought an “uncompromising” probe into the role of the university management in connection with the various issues raised by students.
With classes suspended for 10 days following the clashes, Pinarayi said ensuring the safety and travel arrangements of the more than 1,500 Malayali students on the campus should be treated as an immediate priority.
He urged the Centre and state government to intervene to facilitate the safe travel of students from Jalandhar to Delhi and subsequently to Kerala.
Given the possibility of a shortage of train tickets, the authorities should coordinate with the Railways to arrange special trains or additional coaches, he said.
“The concerns of students and parents must be addressed immediately,” Pinarayi said.
