Governor asks student outfits to draw up a Code of Conduct

Taking a serious view of recent developments in University College here,where a student was stabbed by pro-CPI(M) students union activists, Kerala Governor P Sathasivam Saturday said "mischievous elements" must be kept out of campuses and called for a code of conduct.

The Governor, while inaugurating 'Monsoon Ragas', a five-day music festival being organised by Kerala Tourism here, said a code of conduct should be drawn up by students and students organisations for themselves with due respect given to fundemental rights.

"In the aftermath of University College incident, all stakeholders such as students and student organisations, which have connection with one or another political party should sit together and chart out a code of conduct for themselves with full respect to fundamental rights and students' future," Sathasivam said.

The students organisations have intensified their protest against the LDF government over the stabbing of the final year BA political science student, who is undergoing treatment at a government hospital.

"Mischievous elements must be kept at a distance so that law and order system in the campus is not affected. By doing this, the political organisations will be doing a great service to the future of Kerala," the Governor said.

Meanwhile, pro-Congress students outfit KSU Saturday took out a march to Cliff House, the official residence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, demanding stringent action on various issues relating to the University College here.

The activists were blocked by police before reaching Cliff House, following which they squatted on the road and raised slogans against the state government.

The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) also organised a march to the Secretariat and the activists tried to enter the building.

However, the pro-BJP students wing activists were stopped by police after which they started a 72 hour-long dharna in front of the administrative hub.

K M Abhijith,the KSU state president, is on an indefinite fast in front of the secretariat since the past six days.

"We want the campuses to be a democratic space. Politics should be conceived as a fight between different ideologies. The politics of violence, must be stopped.

At many colleges, where SFI and ABVP hold sway, there is a tendency to attack those who follow politics different from theirs. This must be stopped," Abhijith told PTI.

He said the government should end their "arrogance" on the matter and deal with the issues raised by his party.

The KSU has also demanded a CBI probe into the seizure of Kerala University answer sheets from the house of the prime accused in the stabbing case.

"This is a serious allegation. Four bundles of answer sheets were seized from the house of an SFI leader. The answer sheets are highly confidential.

Even the university has confirmed that the bundles were lost. It's clear that there is a scandal similar to the Vyapam scam in Madhya Pradesh, behind all this," he said.

SFI college unit president and secretary R Sivaranjith and N Nazeem, the prime accused, respectively have been arrested in this connection.

University College is popularly known as the fort of the ruling CPI(M).

The stabbing incident inside the campus triggered widespread public outrage.

The accused were arrested after a lookout notice was issued against eight SFI college unit office bearers.