The Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee dropped its plan to take up the agitation against the Kerala Law Academy Law College on strategic grounds and preferred to let students’ outfits, including the pro-Congress Kerala Students Union, to carry on with the fight.
The KPCC leadership had contemplated broad-basing the stir by holding a sit-in before the Secretariat after it became convinced about the gross complaints about harassment, tinkering with internal assessment of students, and attendance.
However, it decided to strategically keep off so that public attention will not be diverted from the agitation.
As a political outfit, the party will also have to highlight other similar instances of college authorities’ high-handedness, including the Nehru college case, in which police investigation into the circumstances of the death of Jishnu Pranoy had reached nowhere.
Congress leaders apparently did not want the focus to shift from nexus between the law academy authorities and the CPI(M) leadership, which was interfering in favour of the erring management.
KPCC president V.M. Sudheeran, at a press conference, did not mince words while criticising the CPI(M) leadership for being the main stumbling block for a settlement.
“There is no two opinion about the irregularities in the college among political parties and leaders. However, the CPI(M) members on the Kerala University Syndicate came under pressure to throw the ball into the government’s court. The opinion of CPI(M) State secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan indicated that he was responsible for mixing politics to an academic issue that had the support of the entire students of the academy,” Mr. Sudheeran said.
Announcing the support of the Congress, Mr. Sudheeran wanted the State government to expand the scope of the law academy issue by subjecting the allegations about misuse of land to close scrutiny.
He referred to V.S. Achuthanandan’s statement that the land was allocated to the institution because it cited names of judges, politicians, and academics as patron.
The government should examine how the affairs of the academy degenerated to the current state of affairs.
In reply to a question, he said the college principal had lost the moral authority to continue in office after the Syndicate debarred her from examination and other duties.
