Vijayan seeks Centre, State help to bring back Keralite students from unrest-hit LPU

Leader of the Opposition Pinarayi Vijayan has called on both the Union and Kerala governments to step in immediately to bring Keralite students of Lovely Professional University back home safely, following days of unrest on the Jalandhar campus.

In a statement issued on Monday, Mr. Vijayan said the developments at the university warranted the most serious attention. He noted that students had taken to the streets after allegations of sexual assault against a female student, and that classes had been suspended for ten days in the wake of the protests.

With more than 1,500 Malayali students enrolled at the institution, he said ensuring their safety and arranging their travel was an urgent priority. He urged the authorities to facilitate their movement from Jalandhar to Delhi and onward to Kerala.

Mr. Vijayan also flagged the possibility of a shortage of tickets and asked the authorities to coordinate with the Railways to run special trains or attach additional coaches. The concerns of the students and their parents, he said, must be addressed without delay.

Turning to the handling of the protests, he alleged that the university's founder and Chancellor, BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal, and the management had tried to suppress the agitation by deploying the police and workers of Sangh Parivar outfits. He called for a strong public response to this and demanded that justice be delivered through a comprehensive and transparent investigation.

An uncompromising inquiry was needed into the management's role in the various issues raised by the students, he added.