Agitation against Law Academy should not be politicised: Kodiyeri

Thiruvananthapuram: Ruling CPI-M in the State Sunday said the 18-day-old strike by private law college students here should not be politicised and requested the management to work out a compromise with the agitators, even as the opposition Congress urged the Governor to intervene.

CPI-M state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan visited agitating members of the Students Federation of India, who along with students of other political parties, are on a warpath demanding resignation of Kerala Law Academy College principal, Lekshmi Nair, a former CPI-M MLA’s relative.

Balakrishnan said the agitation should not be politicised and should be seen as a students agitation.”Attempt is being made by BJP to give a political colour to the stir,” he said.

Students belonging to various political parties are on warpath in front of the college here to protest the alleged harassment by the college management and are demanding removal of the college principal.

Veteran marxist leader and chairman of the Administrative Reforms commission, V S Achuthanandan, had also visited the students and demanded that government take back the excess land leased to the college management at Peroorkkada.

BJP National Executive member V Muraleedharan, who launched a 48-hour fast on January 25, has decided to continue the agitation until the demands of the students were met.

CPI, part of the ruling LDF, also demanded that strict action be taken against the college management.

Opposition leader in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala today sought the intervention of Governor P Sathasivam, who is also the chancellor of Kerala Univeristy, under which the Kerala Law Academy is affiliated.

Since the CPI-M-led LDF government is not taking any initiative to resolve the issue, the governor should intervene and find a solution to the protest by students, he said.

District congress activists tried to take out a march to the college today, but were prevented by police.

The college principal has denied the allegations against her.

Meanwhile, the Kerala University Syndicate appointed Sub-committee which took evidence from the striking students and their parents, in its report to the syndicate, has alleged that the Principal was showing nepotism towards some students whom she favours.

It was also alleged that that it was solely due to the Principal’s ‘maladministration’ that the over 50-year-old institution had been brought to a ‘pathetic’ situation. The Sub-committee members, which spoke to 90 students, parents, leaders representing five student organisations, observed that the attitude, the body language and the words used by Lekshmi Nair “are not befitting to a principal.” “The committee is convinced that this arrogant approach of the Principal towards the students and their parents have hurt them deeply,” it was stated in the report.

The report stated that principal awarded internal marks, according to her ‘whims and fancies’, flouted University rules and regulations and verification of available records showed her ‘unholy interference’.

Many prominent politicians are alumni of the college.