The Hindu

Mangalore, Feb 4: The Akhil Bharatiya Vidarthi Parishat-sponsored agitation by a section of students of the University College here, demanding the suspension of English lecturer Pattabhiram Somayaji, has been condemned by many organisations on Tuesday.

The suspension was demanded through protests against certain comments alleged to have been made by Mr. Somyaji during an interview by a television channel focussing on the recent pub attack.

The students had boycotted the classes and forced locking of classrooms twice in the last one week.

U.R. Ananthamurthy, a recipient of Jnanapeeth award, told The Hindu over phone from Bangalore that he would meet the Governor along with Ullal MLA U.T. Khader, and some intellectuals and teachers from State capital, including Manu Chakravarthy, Ki. Ram. Nagaraj, and G.K. Govinda Rao, on Thursday to seek protection to Mr. Somayaji. “He needs to be protected from being targeted by certain political forces,” he said and added that the silence of the Opposition party was sad.

Students Federation of India (SFI) here has launched a signature campaign against the suspension-demand of ABVP. Its leaders said they would submit a memorandum in this regard to Governor Rameshwar Thakur.

President of the district unit of People’s Union for Civil Liberties P.B. D’Sa submitted a memorandum to Shrinivas Poojary, principal of the University College, on Tuesday seeking disciplinary action against students, who went on strike against Mr. Somayaji. The strike was not in the interest of college or students, he said.

The memorandum described Mr. Somayaji as an “intellectual having concern for democracy, secularism, and the future of this great country. Mr. Somayaji had only expressed his views and thoughts on the happenings in the country.”

Mr. D’Sa told presspersons that politicising and communalising the college was not a good sign of a civil society.

Addressing presspersons here on Tuesday, Ivan D’Souza, vice--president of Dakshina Kannada district Congress, said the visit of district in-charge Minister J. Krishna Palemar to the college and his order to its principal to issue a notice to Mr. Somayaji were objectionable. “This gives the message of dictatorship,” he added.

A.M. Narahari, president of the Federation of University and College Teachers’ Associations told The Hindu that he had met the Vice Chancellor of the university, K.M. Kavariappa, and requested him not to bend to political pressures and refrain from taking any action against Mr. Somayaji as there was “no serious charge against him”. He said that the students belonging to ABVP students had a democratic right to protest and hence he did not condemn their strike on Thursday and Monday. President of the Association of Mangalore University College Teachers Joslin Lobo said the matter of Mr. Somayaji had been brought to his notice and the association would stand for safeguarding

the teacher. He claimed that he would be meeting the Vice Chancellor soon in this regard.