A row has erupted on the campus of Maharaja’s College, Ernakulam, over the setting up of a ‘memorial’ in the name of M. Abhimanyu, a leader of the Students Federation of India (SFI) who was stabbed to death on the night of July 1 last year.
The Kerala Students Union (KSU) took out a march to the college on Monday in protest against the setting up of the memorial by the SFI in the name of Abhimanyu alleging that it was done in violation of the rules prescribed for a government institution.
“We demand that the work on the memorial being set up without seeking any approval from the authorities concerned should be stopped immediately,” said Aloysius Xavier, district president of KSU.
The SFI clarified that the work on the memorial was initiated by a collective of students who had supported Abhimanyu and his political position. C.S. Amal, district secretary, asked why the KSU was opposing the memorial for Abhimanyu when there were four or five similar memorials on the campus.
He said that organisations like the KSU and the Fraternity movement were apprehensive of the politics upheld by Abhimanyu. They are supporting the politics of intolerance by opposing it, he said.
The college authorities said that they had not given any permission for setting up a memorial in the name of Abhimanyu. They also clarified that the college council was yet to receive any directions from the district administration on stopping the work.
The SFI leadership said that Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, State secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), will address a memorial meeting to be held at Rajendra Maidan on Tuesday. A rally will be held from the High Court Junction to the campus.
