"Kerala Colleges Hubs Of Violence...": Rajeev Chandrasekhar On Chaithanya Case | Read

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, the new chief of the BJP's Kerala unit, has lamented the lack of safety for college and university students in the state and said educational institutions had become "hubs of violence... drugs" bringing young men and women's future to a "brutal early end".

Speaking to NDTV Wednesday afternoon, Mr Chandrasekhar had been asked for his reaction to the tragic death by suicide of Chaithanya Kumari, a 20-year-old medical student allegedly harassed by her hostel warden and who was in a coma for three months, before she died.

"It is a real tragedy that at a time when every country in the world is looking at their youth as an asset... when the economic framework of the world is resting, is being built on talented youngsters, universities and colleges in Kerala have become hubs of violence and drugs."

Parents, Mr Chandrasekhar said, fear for the safety of their children at Kerala educational institutions, claiming 30 to 40 per cent of seats for undergraduate courses are currently vacant. This, he said, is because parents prefer to send their kids outside the state, whether it is for studies or pursue a career.