Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Law Academy principal Lekshmi Nair, who is accused of mismanagement, favoritism and harassment by her students, has been removed from her position, the institute's director and her father Narayanan Nair said Tuesday.
Vice-principal Madhavan Potti will take over as principal, as part of a deal between the academy management and the SFI, the students' wing of the ruling CPM. The SFI called off its strike, citing the assurance from the management.
But if the CPM brass – some with links to the academy management – wanted to bury this thorny issue quietly with such an announcement, it was not to be.
CPM veteran and Kerala Administrative Reforms Commission chairman V.S. Achuthanandan also weighed in, adding fuel to the fire by saying the allegations against the Law Academy were still valid.
VS said he was not aware of the SFI's decision to call off the strike.
Achuthanandan said issues such as Lekshmi's treatment of dalit students and illegal possession of government land by the academy remain suspect.
Other student organizations also said they would continue their agitation backing the demands of the academy's students, citing the lack of communication from the academy management.
The BJP has called for a hartal in Thiruvananthapuram Wednesday in protest of the police beating up its workers who had blockaded the road near the academy earlier in the day.
Classes from Wednesday
Narayanan Nair, a founder of the Law Academy, told the press that it will reopen for classes Wednesday, and that the management will seek police protection.
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“We have taken the decision (to remove Lekshmi Nair) after talks with all student organizations,” Narayanan Nair told the press. “Lekshmi Nair has stepped down; vice-principal Madhavan Potti will take her position.”
The terms of the deal were still not clear.
SFI leaders said Lekshmi will not step into the academy campus for the next five years even as a faculty member. Reports said she would be made the head of the academy's research center as part of the 'deal.' The research center is outside the academy's campus in Peroorkada.
The appointment of Madhavan Potti has already run into trouble. Reports say he is 67, while as per university norms those above 65 cannot be appointed principal.
SFI on damage-control mode
It was a day of swift developments in the state capital. Around noon, the SFI drew widespread opprobrium when it said it has stepped back from its earlier stance that Lekshmi should resign as principal.
The announcement was widely seen as a logical culmination of a speech delivered by CPM strongman Kodiyeri Balakrishnan last week that the students' demands should be separated from politics – a clear attempt by the CPM leadership to save Lekshmi.
The feeling of shock and betrayal that the SFI's announcement evoked soon made way for outrage. The public mood was clear – and the SFI was left without a fig leaf for cover.
The BJP – whose leader V. Muraleedharan is on hunger strike in front of the Law Academy campus – blockaded traffic at Peroorkada, leading to a police lathicharge that injured several people. BJP state president Kummanam Rajasekharan later said many of them had head injuries. He said the police unleashed the violence without provocation and the officers responsible should be tried for murder.
The Congress, meanwhile, wrote to the governor P. Sathasivam to remove Lekshmi Nair from her post. Congress legislator K Muraleedharan had announced Monday that he would go on an indefinite hunger stir if the issue was not solved within 48 hours.
Seeing things spiraling out of control and sensing the public mood, SFI leaders stepped back into the scene and made the dramatic announcement that they had secured an assurance in writing from the Kerala Law Academy management that Lekshmi will be removed from her post.
Apparently, it was coup the SFI was forced to deliver, against the wishes of its political masters in the parent party who had earlier asked it to deescalate. From the SFI leaders' statements, it appeared that the academy management had negotiated with it alone.
Addressing media, SFI state general secretary M. Vijin said it had got an assurance from the management that Lekshmi would not be allowed to enter the campus even as faculty for the next 5 years.
Setback to Law Academy in HC
In a related development, the Kerala High Court said the temporary structures put up by agitating students should not be demolished. The court said the police could intervene if the free movement of the students or the management was impeded on the campus.
On Monday, talks held between the management of the Law Academy and representatives of protesting student outfits had failed to yield any result with Lekshmi refusing to resign.
Lekshmi had then expressed willingness to go on long leave, but the students refused to accept the suggestion and stood firm on their demand for her resignation.