Kerala Law Academy: Student stir ends as Lakshmi ousted

Thiruvananthapuram: The 29-day-old strike at the Kerala Law Academy Law College ended on Wednesday after the management signed a new agreement with the students in the presence of Education Minister C. Raveendranath  stating  that Ms Lakshmi Nair  has been  removed as  principal.  Regular classes will begin from Monday. BJP leader V.V. Rajesh and Congress leader K. Muraleedharan, who had been on fast in support of the  striking students, also called off their fast.

The government  has  agreed to intervene  if the management breached the agreement which was signed by the government, management and students. A person qualified as per UGC norms will be appointed as principal. The management which advertised for a new principal made it clear that the interview will be held before August 18. The SFI, which had withdrawn the strike earlier,  also signed the  new agreement along with MSF,KSU and ABVP. Though the agreement with the SFI had  stated that the principal had relinquished the post for five years, there is  no time-limit in the present agreement. The minister held discussions for over one-and-a-half-hours  with the students and union leaders before arriving at a consensus.

The decision to hold another round of talks with the students was taken in the morning at the cabinet meeting. Agriculture Minister V.S. Sunil Kumar also took part in the meeting. Academy directors N. Narayanan Nair and Narayana Das represented the college management. CPI state secretary Kanam Rajendran and minister Sunil Kumar had held  talks with the students earlier.

Revenue Minister E. Chandrasekharan  said that he had  received the report  of district collector S. Venkateshpathi  on the academy land issue and that  the government would take a final decision after studying it.