Kerala: BJP plans to take over self financing college agitation

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The BJP has decided to cash in on the ongoing students' agitation against the Law Academy College and the self-financing engineering colleges in the state, including Nehru College, Pambadi, and Toms College, Kottayam. The BJP core committee decided to hold a parallel protest in front of the secretariat on the law academy issue. State secretary V. V. Rajesh is continuing his indefinite fast before the law academy after former state president V. Muraleedharan was shifted to the hospital on February 1.

A section of senior leaders and ABVP leaders were not pleased with Mr Muraleedharan hijacking the students' protest. When the party hesitated to jump into the fray, Mr Muraleedharan seized the opportunity. "But eventually the BJP leadership decided to take over the protest," said a top BJP leader. The core committee appointed a three-member committee consisting of Mr Muraleedharan and general secretaries M. T. Ramesh and A. N. Radhakrishnan to intensify the stir against private self-financing engineering colleges. State president Kummanam Rajasekharan told reporters that the BJP would support the striking students of Nehru College and Toms College.

"The LDF government is trying to suppress the students' agitation. A team comprising state president and former chiefs Muraleedharan and P. K. Krishnadas will meet Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh to apprise him of the CPM's murder politics the state," said Mr Kummanam. BJP general secretary Sobha Surendran will lead a march from Palakkad to Manjeshwaram with the ashes of Vimala, 46, who was torched allegedly by CPM supporters at Kanjikode in Palakkad last month. Mahila Morcha state president Renu Suresh will also lead a parallel march from Palakkad to Thiruvananthapuram on the same issue.