CPI(M), CJP Extend Support To LPST Rank Holders, Protest Intensifies In Kerala

The CPI(M) on Thursday extended support to protesting Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) rank holders in Kerala after police dismantled their protest tent outside the Secretariat and arrested their leader, S Valarmathi. The Cockroach Janatha Party (CJP) also announced that it would join the agitation until their demands were addressed.

CPI(M) district secretary and MLA V Joy criticised the police action on Wednesday night, alleging that protesters were forcibly removed and their belongings damaged. He accused the government of showing intolerance towards protests despite having previously championed democratic rights while in the opposition.

Joy said the government had initially held discussions with the rank holders and assured them that their concerns would be resolved, but failed to fulfil its commitments. He warned that the CPI(M), along with organisations such as the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), would extend all necessary assistance and protection to the protesters.

Meanwhile, CJP activists visited the protest site and announced their participation in the indefinite agitation, demanding that Chief Minister V D Satheesan honour his assurances and ensure appointments.

Valarmathi, who is leading an indefinite hunger strike, was shifted to a ward at the Thiruvananthapuram General Hospital after initially being admitted to the intensive care unit. Police said she had refused medication. Her condition was stable, and her discharge would depend on the doctor's recommendation. Other rank holders began a hunger strike outside the Secretariat in her absence.

The protesters are demanding appointment orders for all eligible candidates on the LPST rank list before it expires. Their other demands include transferring appointments to aided-school teaching posts to the Kerala Public Service Commission (PSC), ending alleged cash-for-job recruitment practices and implementing a teacher-student ratio of 1:25.

Talks between the protesters and the government failed, with the latter citing financial constraints. However, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) MLA P K Firoz urged the rank holders to wait for appointments, saying the government was sympathetic to their concerns and committed to appointing as many candidates as possible.