LPST Rank Holders Intensify Protest Outside Secretariat, Vow to Continue Hunger Strike

Thiruvananthapuram: LPST rank holders have intensified their protest outside the Secretariat, with the candidates planning further demonstrations in the coming days in addition to their hunger strike. The other forms of protest staged so far include shaving their heads, collecting waste paper, staging a symbolic funeral procession with a bier, and laying siege to the Assembly. Protest committee leader Valarmathi began her hunger strike after shaving her head the other day.

The candidates have firmly ruled out further talks with the government. They insist that the government must bring written orders fulfilling its promises to the protest site instead of making verbal assurances. Valarmathi said the hunger strike would continue until their demands were met.

The government has been evading responsibility by claiming that appointing the candidates would impose a major financial burden, she said. She alleged that the Education Minister’s request for 45 days to resolve the issue was a tactic to suppress the protest.

Valarmathi said V D Satheesan, who had spoken extensively about the candidates’ grievances when he was Leader of the Opposition, had ignored them after becoming Chief Minister. She said they would try to meet him again and that she would continue the hunger strike until death if justice was not delivered.

Reiterating that the candidates were unwilling to engage in further talks, Valarmathi said the government should bring orders implementing its earlier assurances to the protest site first.

The candidates said they would not give in to the government’s demand that they call off the protest and leave. Questioning whether the government wanted so many job aspirants to remain on the streets, Valarmathi said they were firmly convinced that their demands were justified.

The indefinite round-the-clock protest entered its 115th day on Tuesday. The candidates’ main demands include reducing the student-teacher ratio to 1:25, freezing the circular aimed at expediting aided-school appointments, and ensuring eligible appointment opportunities for those included in the rank list.

The government, which had announced that it would provide jobs to teachers, is now citing the state’s financial crisis as a reason for not fulfilling that commitment, the candidates said.