LPST Candidates to Intensify Hunger Strike in Front of Secretariat, Refuse Medical Treatment

Thiruvananthapuram: LPST candidates staging an indefinite hunger strike in front of the Secretariat demanding justice have decided to intensify their protest. Valarmathi, convener of the protest committee, said they would refuse medical treatment and continue the hunger strike until the government issued an order accepting their demands. The candidates said they would resist any attempt to forcibly remove them.

The protest by the candidates has entered its 127th day, while Valarmathi's hunger strike has reached its 15th day. The candidates had earlier prevented an attempt to shift Valarmathi to hospital.

"We did not get justice from the government that we brought to power with hope. We do not want treatment from a government that has shown us no compassion. We will intensify the protest. The government is unnecessarily provoking us. Even ministers are making false statements," Valarmathi said.

She said the candidates had raised a demand before the minister to implement the 1:25 student-teacher ratio only in schools where a division had been lost due to a decline in student enrolment. This, she said, would not impose any financial burden on the government.

The protest was launched with around 16 demands. However, following discussions with ministers and taking into account the government's argument that the demands would have financial implications, the candidates reduced the number of demands to five.

The ministers have said they would try to accept the demands except the most important one, the candidates said. They maintained that this was unacceptable and vowed to continue the protest until all their demands were accepted, adding that they were putting their lives at stake for the agitation.