Kochi | KSU state president Aloysius Xavier on Friday said that if the UDF government considered his opposition to the appointment of a former SFI activist as a government pleader a "mistake", he would repeat it, while asserting that the student outfit had no intention of tarnishing the image of the administration.
Xavier was speaking to reporters at a function held at a college here which was also attended by Chief Minister V D Satheesan.
Although both attended the same programme, there was no interaction between them.
The controversy erupted after Satheesan told reporters on Wednesday that government pleaders were appointed on the basis of merit and recommendations and that the government would not function under pressure from political or student organisations.
The Kerala Students Union (KSU), the student wing of the Congress, has raised objection over the appointment of a former Students' Federation of India (SFI) leader as a government pleader.
Xavier said he had deliberately refrained from reacting to the issue for the past two days because the controversy arose from a specific political context.
He said that there is absolutely no doubt that this UDF government was built on the blood, sweat and tears of ordinary KSU workers.
He said KSU had only pointed out what it considered a lapse on the part of the government.
Recalling campus violence on campuses during the LDF regime, Xavier said KSU had survived brutal assaults and severe persecution by the SFI and continued its organizational activities despite the attacks.
"When an individual, who was part of the group that led those violent attacks against us from the opposite side back then, steps in as a Government Pleader during this UDF governance, my politics—the politics I studied—demands that I stand with the emotions raised by my workers and KSU unit committee representatives.
“The only 'mistake' I committed as the KSU State President was pointing this out to the government. If the government considers this a mistake, it is my firm decision to repeat that mistake," Xavier said.
He made it clear that neither he nor the KSU had any intention of tarnishing the image of the UDF government.
"The State KSU Committee President has not thought for a single moment about tarnishing this Kerala government over this issue. I am fully aware that this government needs to perform well. This is my government too. Rather, this is the government of the ordinary people of this state," he said.
He said the issue should not be viewed as an attack on the government.
"A lapse occurred on the government's part and we pointed it out. That we pointed it out remains a reality," he said.
On reports that he was denied an appointment with the Chief Minister, Xavier said he did not consider it a major grievance.
"I had contacted the Chief Minister's Office regarding this matter. We can naturally understand his position. The Chief Minister of Kerala is not the Chief Minister of a single party. He is the Chief Minister of the entire public. He has to deal with numerous matters," he said.
Xavier said the matter was being viewed from the wrong perspective.
"It was stated that the KSU unit committee naturally has no role in the appointment of a Government Pleader. Technically, what he said might be correct. I am not rejecting it or arguing that his contention is wrong,” he said.
However, he said that he stands by the emotional sentiments of the students in that unit committee.
“As I told the last day, the Chief Minister should have exercised a bit more caution regarding this matter. That is my opinion as the President of the State KSU Committee," he said.
He said that SFI and DYFI never pointed out any issues to Pinarayi Vijayan when he was the Chief Minister.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leaders sought to downplay the controversy.
Revenue Minister A P Anilkumar said the Congress had never treated the KSU and Youth Congress as organisations that functioned like the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI) or the SFI.
"They have always had an independent character, and they have the freedom to express their opinions. But freedom has its limits. Speaking beyond those limits cannot be accepted, irrespective of who does it. If there are grievances, they can express them before the party leadership, and the leadership will take them seriously," he said.
Senior Congress leader and Health Minister K Muraleedharan also dismissed suggestions that the Chief Minister was inaccessible.
"There is no barrier to meeting the Chief Minister. Anyone can meet him at the Secretariat from 4 pm onwards. A public-friendly Chief Minister like this has not been seen in recent times," he said.
Muraleedharan also defended the appointment of persons who had earlier belonged to rival political parties.
"One thing must be understood. Just because someone belonged to another party in the past, does that become a disqualification? If that were the case, the BJP legislature party leader in Kerala was once a Congress office-bearer. Senior CPI(M) leader T K Hamza was once our District Congress Committee president. Just because something happened in one's past political life does not make his present role unacceptable," he said.
