Cong slams LDF govt for decision to send college union

The CPI-M led LDF government's decision to send college union chairpersons for leadership training abroad has kicked up a controversy with opposition Congress slamming it as an "extravagance" at a time when the state is reeling under an acute financial crisis.

There were reports that chairpersons of 70 colleges in the state would be sent to Cardiff University in London by the government,which would spend Rs 1.25 crore for leadership training.

Senior Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala, in a hard- hitting statement, said on Tuesday that a majority of the chairpersons were members of the left students' union Students' Federation of India (SFI).

He alleged that the SFI leaders were the ones indulging in violence in the college campuses of the state.

"Under the garb of college union activities, SFI leaders are indulging in goondaism.

They are unleashing violence in campuses and attacking students and teachers," he alleged.

Chennithala asked the government to ensure a peaceful atmosphere in college campuses before sending student leaders abroad for training.

Such a move was 'sheer extravagance' at a time when the state was reeling under a grave financial crisis, he said.

The opposition leader in the state assembly also alleged that the state government was spending central government funds allotted for academic activities for this purpose.