SFI, KSU students brawl triggers war of words between CPI-M, Cong

Thiruvananthapuram, March 16 A late night (Tuesday) brawl between rival student union protesters appears to have ruined normal life in the state capital city on Wednesday as these incidents reverberated in the ongoing assembly session with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Leader of Opposition V.D. Satheesan engaging in a war of words.

It all began last night when trouble broke out between students of SFI and Congress backed KSU in the Law College here. It was the KSU students who got badly mauled by the CPI-M backed SFI students.

Safina, a lady KSU activist suffered the worst attack and two other male students also got badly beaten up by the SFI students.

All the three students are presently admitted to the state run Medical College and hospital here.

In the assembly, Satheesan raised this issue and said the attack which began in the college campus reached the homes where the KSU students are staying.

"The lady KSU activist was attacked and the police remained as mute witness to the barbaric act of the SFI students. The scenario in the state is such that one cannot distinguish between goons and SFI students. The Chief Minister has given a license to these SFI students to attack all their adversaries and is protecting them as you behave like a party secretary. This is dangerous and this has to change," said an angry Satheesan.

But not to be cowed down by speeches, Vijayan hit back at Satheesan and told him he should not stoop to the level of the backbenchers in the opposition side.

"Satheesan is behaving in an unbecoming manner and appears to have lost his bearings after the massive loss his party suffered in the assembly polls. It's your party (Congress) which has hunted and haunted political opponents," hit back Vijayan.

In the afternoon, angry KSU activists took to the streets in the capital city, while the assembly session was going on.

The protests were led by three Congress legislators and they courted arrest after the police decided to forcefully remove them.

The Lok Sabha on Wednesday also witnessed the SFI attack on KSU activists when Congress MP Hibi Eden raised it and demanded protection for the students.

There were protests by the KSU activists in other parts of the state as they took to the streets demanding action against the SFI workers who attacked their counterparts in the Law College.

The police in the capital city have registered multiple cases against both the rival student union members.

The Congress led opposition will be raising this issue on Thursday with a detailed account of how their student activists are being gagged up across the state by the SFI students, while the police turn to be mute spectators.

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