Kerala University VC alleges foreign forces are turning youngsters into 'cockroaches'

Kerala University Vice Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal on Saturday alleged that some foreign forces were deliberately trying to turn youngsters into "cockroaches" and make them drug addicts, asserting that he was only doing what a VC was expected to do. Kunnummal was responding to criticism over his recent remarks at an event organised to honour students who excelled in competitive examinations, where he had said students were not "cockroaches" but strong lions. He had asked students in the audience to raise their voices if they were not cockroaches, but only one or two responded. Explaining the incident, the VC said the children in the audience were very young and had remained silent because they had not understood what he meant when he asked whether they were cockroaches.

"Some foreign forces are deliberately turning youngsters into cockroaches. They are trying to destroy them by making them drug addicts," he said while responding to a TV channel. Kunnummal said if he does not resist this, how can he be a vice chancellor? The VC said some children later told him that they had not heard what he had said at the function and claimed that older students would have responded. He also alleged that the raising of dissenting voices from abroad could not be viewed as a coincidence.

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"A young man comes from America, and many people are supporting him. Can all this be a coincidence? Shouldn't a university vice chancellor think about all this?" he asked. Responding to criticism over his alleged remarks that those opposing Vande Mataram "do not know their mother", Kunnummal said his words had been misinterpreted.

He said he had intended to refer to the idea of respecting the earth and alleged that he was being branded as a "Sanghi" with certain ulterior motives. Kunnummal said only people with "malicious intentions" had distorted his remarks and turned them into controversies. On allegations about his affiliation with the RSS, he said the country was being governed by people who believed in RSS ideology and that they did not need his help. "I am only doing what a vice chancellor is supposed to do," he said. The VC also criticised the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the students' wing of the CPI(M), which has been staging protests against him over various issues. He alleged that SFI activists recently portrayed him as the mythical demon king Mahabali and buried the effigy in front of the university.