Two rounds of conciliatory discussions that the Kerala Law Academy Law College management held with students on Monday failed to break the deadlock with the latter resolving to strengthen their agitation.
A tense drama unfolded on the college campus after the management undertook a flurry of activities to placate the agitating students.
All students’ organisations, barring the Students Federation of India (SFI), termed the talks a failure. However, leaders of the CPI(M)-feeder organisation, who continued their discussions with the management even after the departure of their counterparts in other organisations, claimed that an understanding was reached on most issues, except the resignation of Principal P. Lekshmi Nair.
A hurriedly-convened meeting of the college director board sparked off speculation that the management could agree to the students’ prime demand for Ms. Nair’s resignation. However, at a conciliatory meeting held with the students’ representatives, the management proposed asking her to proceed on leave, even while she would be permitted to remain as a faculty member. The Vice Principal will be entrusted with the Principal’s responsibilities for the time being, the management represented by Director N. Narayanan Nair and Nagaraj Narayanan, among others, proposed.
However, the students were firm on their stance on accepting nothing less than Ms. Nair’s resignation. Claiming that the management’s proposals were mere eyewash, they said such steps would enable her to adopt vengeful measures against the students who sought her resignation.
The discussion broke down with the students staging a walkout, only for the management to call them back within minutes. The students were then asked to provide their list of demands in writing. While most leaders left the discussions around 10 p.m., representatives of the SFI participated in the talks.
SFI State secretary M. Vijin said the management “agreed to 90 per cent of the demands”, including those relating to internal assessment and repositioning of CCTV cameras. The leaders of the organisation would meet on Tuesday to decide on the course of action. “However, we have not called off our strike yet,” he said.
The Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad will observe a State-wide education bandh on Thursday in protest against the government allegedly favouring the college management. The organisation will also take out a march to the Secretariat on Wednesday, a statement said.
The All India Youth Federation (AIYF) commenced an indefinite demonstration in front of the college in solidarity with the students’ agitation.
