'Beef festival' in college row politically motivated: Kerala Home Minister

Kerala Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala today termed as "politically motivated" the controversy over "beef festival" at a college campus run by Cochin Devaswom Board in Thrissur district and asked the college authorities not to act against a lecturer who supported the event.

Chennithala, in a Facebook post, said he had instructed the college management not to take any action against the woman lecturer Deepa Nisanth who had favoured beef festival at the campus.

"I have asked President of Cochin Devaswom Board that runs the Kerala Varma College not to take action against Deepa Nisanth. I believe that political motive is the objective behind the row", Chennithala said.

"So, it is not at all correct to initiate action against Deepa Nisanth for posting in Facebook in favour of beef feast" Chennithala said.

Cochin Devaswom Board President M P Baskaran Nair had told him that no action has been taken against the teacher. The Board had only sought a report from the college Principal on the incident, Chennithala said.

In her Facebook post, Deepa Nisanth, a faculty of the college, had supported the "beef festival" organised by SFI activists on October one to protest against the Dadri lynching incident.

Meanwhile, CPI-M veteran V S Achuthanandan also came out against the move to take action against students for conducting the festival and teacher who favoured it.

Achuthanandan, Opposition leader in Kerala Assembly, said it was unfortunate that Kerala Varma College management was implementing "Sangh Parivar agenda."

Strongly condemning the lynching of a man in Dadri in Uttar Pradesh over rumours of eating beef, Achuthanandan alleged that "communal fascist forces are trying to transform the nation into a lunatic asylum under the influence of the BJP-led government at the Centre.