V.D. Satheesan should not turn into V.D. Savarkar: AIYF, AISF raise slogan during protest in Thrissur

Raising political slogans and alleging ideological compromise, the district committees of the All India Youth Federation (AIYF) and All India Students’ Federation (AISF) organised a protest march to the District Educational Officer’s (DEO) office in Thrissur on Tuesday (June 23, 2026).

The march was held in protest against the alleged police brutality on activists who participated in a recent Assembly march in Thiruvananthapuram against the PM SHRI scheme.

Police used water cannons to disperse the protesters as they attempted to march towards the DEO office. The demonstration was marked by the slogan, “V.D. Satheesan should not turn into V.D. Savarkar,” reflecting the organisations’ strong criticism of the Congress leadership’s stand on the issue.

‘Saffronisation agenda’

Inaugurating the protest, AIYF district secretary Prasad Pareri accused the Congress of attempting to reintroduce in Kerala a scheme that, he said, had earlier been rejected by the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government. He alleged that the PM SHRI project was a vehicle to implement the Centre’s “saffronisation agenda” in the education sector.

Mr. Pareri warned that the scheme could undermine the constitutional rights of States in education, erode their autonomy in curriculum design, and pave the way for the inclusion of “unscientific and historically distorted content” in textbooks. He also criticised the selective allocation of funds to certain schools, stating that it would deepen inequality and discrimination within the public education system.

Leaders of the organisations further alleged that the Chief Minister and the Congress were indirectly supporting policies that threaten Kerala’s secular and progressive educational values. They strongly condemned the police action against student and youth activists in Thiruvananthapuram, terming it “brutal and undemocratic.”

The speakers also raised serious concerns over the use of allegedly contaminated water in water cannons, calling it a violation of human rights, especially in the context of public health risks such as infectious diseases and brain fever.

AIYF district president Binoy Shabeer presided over the meeting. Leaders from both organisations led the march. The protesters later said they would lodge a formal complaint with the District Collector over the alleged use of contaminated water by the police.