Leaders condemn attackon IIT-M research scholar

IIT administration should not have given nod for protest, says Tamilisai

Condemning the attack on R. Sooraj, a Ph.D. student of IIT-Madras, CPI(M) State secretary G. Ramakrishnan said that the incident was barbaric.

“I think this is what Modi wants. His government’s order has caused further polarisation,” he said. Mr. Ramakrishnan called for prompt action against the perpetrators.

Even as she condemned the violence, BJP’s State unit president Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the IIT-Madras administration should not have given permission for Sunday night’s protest to go ahead.

“The IIT management should have curtailed the eating of beef as a form of protest inside the campus,” she said. However, Ms. Soundararajan said that she was not against beef eating per se.

“Even the Central government has said that we are not against beef eating. All I am saying is that the protest would have provoked some people,” she said.

TMC president G.K. Vasan called for action against the perpetrators. “The police should investigate properly and find out who the culprits are. So many protests have been happening against these rules. Why was an IIT student targeted, that too inside the campus?” he asked.

Meanwhile, reacting to the attack on Twitter, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said he would request his Tamil Nadu counterpart to take necessary action.