Students to continue stir; Kerala Law Academy to start classes

A confrontation is on the cards with the management of Kerala Law Academy Law college planning to conduct classes from tomorrow, even as agitating students have resolved to intensify their stir.
A meeting convened yesterday by the State Education Minister C Raveendranath to end the 26-day long agitation failed to break the impasse as students stuck to their main demand of resignation of the Principal Lekshmi Nair, while the management maintained that she had been kept away from the post for next five years.
The management had yesterday announced that classes would begin tomorrow.
Though the students belonging to ABVP, KSU and AISF, under a joint action council had launced the strike, Congress and BJP have now openly joined the agitation in support of students.

Students started the agitation to fight the allegations of harassment, nepotism, mismanagement, and misuse of power, another serious issue with regard to the mis-utilisation of about 12 acres of land assigned to the Academy also came up later.
Former KPCC President K Muraleedharan, MLA, who is on a fast stir for the past four days, in front of the Academy at nearby Peroorkada, said the government should intervene and avoid a tense situation.

"The government should not create a situation that would trigger tension," he said.
Criticising the conciliation talks held yesterday, Muraleedharan said, the Education Minister virtually acted like a 'broker' for the management instead of suggesting measures to find a solution to the problem.

He also justified the students' main demand of resignation of Principal Lekshmi Nair.
BJP State Secretary VV Rajesh who is also on a fast protest in front of the college, said their agitation was not only against the Law Academy, but a fight against private educational institutions that harass students.
He said BJP would continue the stir till demands of students were met.
Spelling more trouble for Principal Lekshmi Nair, Kerala Pulayar Mahaha Sabha, an outfit of backward community, has called for the arrest of Nair for her alleged harassment of dalit students.
The Sabha leaders said that they would take out a march to the Academy tomorrow.

The college is in the eye of a storm over alleged irregularities in providing internal marks and harassment of students by Lekshmi Nair, daughter of college secretary N Narayanan Nair, a close relative of a former CPI(M) MLA.
Academy issue also divided the CPI-M and CPI, the two major partners in the CPI-M led ruling LDF with CPI openly coming out in support of students agitation.
SFI, students wing of pro-CPI-M, had called off the stir last week after management agreed to keep away Lekshmi Nair from the post of principal.