Kochi | Keralam Minister Roji M John on Sunday said there was no move to ban student politics at Kerala University and termed reports claiming otherwise factually incorrect.

He was responding to reporters amid reports about a draft Code of Conduct regulating student politics that had recently come up for consideration before the university syndicate.

The Higher Education minister said Kerala University had not taken any decision to ban student politics and that a campaign spreading misleading information was underway.

He said several public interest litigations were filed before the Kerala High Court following the murder of student Abhimanyu at Maharaja's College, Kochi, after which the court directed universities to issue guidelines on student politics on campuses.

The court had also observed that guidelines prepared by MG University in 2005 could be followed or used as a model, he said.

Following repeated directions from the court, Kerala University appointed a syndicate sub-committee to frame guidelines on the issue. The sub-committee asked the university's legal department to prepare a draft for discussion, John said.

"The legal department merely forwarded a document for discussion by the syndicate sub-committee. It included the draft prepared by MG University in 2005," he said.

John said the sub-committee would examine the draft and recommend necessary amendments.

"After proposing the amendments, the decision taken at the recent syndicate meeting was that, with the approval of the sub-committee, the draft should be sent to all student organisations," he said.

After hearing the views of all student organisations and incorporating them, the sub-committee would discuss the draft again and submit it to the syndicate, he said.

"Only when the syndicate discusses and approves it will it become an official guideline or decision of the university regarding student politics," John said.

John said some people had jumped to conclusions after seeing the draft and were spreading false claims that the university was going to ban student politics.

"I can assure you one thing. As far as this government is concerned, our stance is very clear. This government's stance is that student politics must be encouraged on campuses," he said.

John said he had entered politics as an ordinary worker of the Kerala Students Union, later became a college union chairman, a union councillor at Jawaharlal Nehru University and eventually the national president of the student organisation.

He said many leaders at the helm of political movements in Keralam today had entered politics through student organisations.

"What we need on campuses is not just issuing degrees or teaching a syllabus. Students must discuss politics on campuses, understand politics and be part of the democratic process," he said.

John said the government's position was clear that students should have the right to participate in campus politics.

"If a student at the age of 18 has the right to participate in the country's democratic process by voting to decide our MLA, minister, chief minister and prime minister, that student has full rights to decide the politics of their campus, elect union representatives and be a part of that politics," he said.

"That is our belief. We will not budge even an inch from that stance. Our position is that student politics must exist on campuses, with no compromise whatsoever," John said.

He said a draft sent for discussion had been leaked and false publicity was being spread as if it were the final decision.

"Beyond that, no action to ban student politics will ever happen during the tenure of this government," he said.

Responding to a question on whether the recommendations in the draft were anti-democratic, John said they were guidelines released by MG University in 2005.

"There were differences of opinion regarding those recommendations even back then. The court had mentioned in its directive that this should be considered. So naturally, it comes up for discussion," he said.

John said what had come up before the syndicate was merely a discussion based on the old draft.

He accused some media outlets of misinforming the public by reporting the draft as a final decision.

"Reacting to that without verifying facts—like the saying 'jumping to conclusions on rumours'—the Leader of the Opposition and some CPI(M) leaders are issuing statements. Shouldn't they verify the facts first?" he asked.

He pointed out that the syndicate sub-committee discussing the draft did not consist only of members aligned with the ruling party.

"You must understand one more thing: the syndicate sub-committee discussing this does not consist only of people aligned with the ruling party. It includes members aligned with the Leader of the Opposition's party as well," he said.

John said the draft was merely sent by the university's legal department for discussion to a sub-committee that included members from different political backgrounds.

"It would have been better if the Leader of the Opposition had at least asked them what this was before making a statement," John said.

Leader of the Opposition in the Keralam Assembly, Pinarayi Vijayan, the Left-aligned university employees' union, and student organisations, including SFI and KSU, have raised objections to the draft rules restricting political activities on campuses at Kerala University.