Thiruvananthapuram | BJP national secretary K Surendran on Thursday termed the clash between Youth Congress and SFI activists here as a "drama" and questioned Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's stand on student protests.
Surendran, speaking to reporters here, asked what Gandhi, who had supported student protests in Rajasthan and Bihar, had to say about the developments in Congress-ruled Keralam.
He also questioned whether the Congress and CPI(M), which are constituents of the INDIA bloc, followed different policies in different states.
"Police are entering college hostels in Keralam and taking away CPI(M)'s student activists. Is it that there is one policy here and another there?" he asked.
Surendran alleged that Rahul Gandhi and CPI(M) general secretary M A Baby were "hugging each other" in Delhi and Baby even described Gandhi as the Prime Ministerial candidate of the INDIA bloc.
"Congress and CPI(M) are protesting together in Delhi, while they are staging a drama through the Youth Congress and SFI here," he alleged.
Surendran said that the clash between the SFI and Youth Congress was staged to divert public attention.
"This is a drama. It is a play staged by the SFI and Youth Congress. It will not divert people's attention," he said.
He further alleged that the Congress was using its "hooligans" to carry out violence in the state.
Surendran said the BJP has been organising black-flag protests against state ministers in connection with the Youth Congress's protest against Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the state recently, but claimed that its protests had never turned violent.
He also sought a response from Chief Minister V D Satheesan over the present developments.
Meanwhile, the BJP leadership alleged that its state headquarters in Thiruvananthapuram was attacked under the cover of darkness, calling it a challenge to the basic values of democracy.
It said resorting to violence when unable to politically confront opponents was not acceptable in democratic politics and warned of statewide protests against the incident.
His remarks came a day after Youth Congress and Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists clashed in the Palayam area of the state capital following a protest march against the Union government and Chief Election Commission (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
Police have registered separate cases against KSU/Youth Congress and SFI/DYFI activists following the clash, officials said.
The violence broke out when the Youth Congress march reached near the Kerala University hostel, police said.
Youth Congress/KSU activists alleged that stones were pelted at the march from the hostel, while SFI/DYFI activists alleged that the protesters threw fire torches towards hostel inmates, according to police.
The confrontation led to police intervention, including a lathi charge at the hostel and outside its premises. SFI has announced a statewide protest at educational institutions on Thursday against the police action.