Thiruvananthapuram | BJP Kerala president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Monday criticised students of Stanford University who staged a walkout during the university's commencement ceremony featuring Google CEO Sundar Pichai, describing their actions as an example of "extreme ignorance".
In a social media post, Chandrasekhar shared a video of the students walking out and said they had squandered an opportunity to study at a world-class university and to hear directly from someone who had achieved remarkable success and built major enterprises.
"This is the latest example of the extreme ignorance that seems to have gripped some of our youth today," he said.
According to reports, several students at Stanford University, voicing their support for Palestine, staged a walkout during Google CEO Sundar Pichai's keynote commencement address at the institution.
Referring to the incident, Chandrasekhar said that he understood that young people often have a natural enthusiasm for opposing systems, questioning authority, challenging institutions, and fighting for causes, noting that previous generations had done the same during their student years.
However, he said, standing up for a cause should not be confused with "ignorance or foolish behaviour".
"You are living in the age of Artificial Intelligence, not in the age of ignorance," he said.
Chandrasekhar's remarks came after a group of Stanford University students staged a walkout during the university's commencement ceremony, at which Pichai delivered the commencement address.
Pichai, who had received a Master of Science (MS) in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University, returned to his alma mater on Sunday to deliver the commencement address to the class of 2026.
A Stanford Report article said that over 20,000 people, including 3,600 students, attended Stanford's 135th Commencement ceremony.
Another report in SFGate said that about 200 students walked out as Pichai addressed the students, faculty, parents and other attendees at the commencement ceremony.
"Pro-Palestinian protesters condemned the company's ties with the Israeli government, particularly its controversial USD 1.2 billion cloud-computing deal with the country in 2021, known as Project Nimbus. The walkouts follow other Stanford commencements over the last three years where students have demonstrated in response to Israel's war in Gaza and the university's crackdown on pro-Palestinian demonstrations on campus," the SFGate report said.
Video from the commencement ceremony on social media showed students walking out of the event, carrying Palestinian flags and banners, and shouting slogans like 'Free Palestine', as Pichai spoke. Reports said the protest was organised by groups including 'Students for Justice in Palestine' and 'No Tech for Apartheid.
