Published Nov 12, 2026 | 3:35 PM ⚊ Updated Nov 12, 2026 | 3:35 PM
The police action on Wednesday night had triggered protests at the site. (Supplied)
The stand-off between the state government and the agitating Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) rank-holders intensified on Thursday, 12 November, with the protesters rebuilding their protest camp outside the Secretariat and association secretary S. Valarmathi resuming her hunger strike a day after the police removed her from the site and shifted her to hospital.
The agitation by the All Kerala Lower Primary School Teachers Rankholders’ Association entered its 130th day on Thursday.
Valarmathi, who was taken away by the police on Wednesday, 11 November, night citing concerns over her deteriorating health, returned to the protest venue and announced that the indefinite hunger strike would continue.
The police action on Wednesday night had triggered protests at the site, drawing workers of both the Yuva Morcha and the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI). DYFI workers subsequently erected new sheds after the police dismantled the original protest structures.
CPI(M) leaders P.K. Biju and C.S. Sujatha also reached the spot.
Responding to the controversy, Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said on Thursday that the government had no intention of targeting the protesters.
He maintained that the police had removed the shed to avoid contempt of court proceedings in the wake of a recent Supreme Court ruling against indefinite occupation of public roads and spaces in the name of protests.
The court had directed authorities to ensure that public ways remained free of obstructions.
Chennithala said the police were repeatedly facing criticism from courts for failing to implement judicial directions.
He also appealed to the protesters to withdraw their agitation, pointing out that the government had accepted four of the five major demands raised by them.
The rank-holders had temporarily called off their protest in August following discussions with General Education Minister N. Samsudeen, who had sought 45 days to examine their demands, including changes to the teacher-student ratio. However, the agitation was revived after the association alleged that its key demands remained unresolved.
Meanwhile, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi, who is in Wayanad, came out in support of the right to peaceful protest.
Responding to a question on the LPST agitation, she said protests should not be prevented as long as they remained peaceful, irrespective of whether they were directed against governments ruled by her own party or their policies.
She said people must be allowed to exercise their constitutional right to protest and that police intervention should be warranted only in cases involving violence, law-and-order violations or injuries.
Valarmathi, meanwhile, accused the government of deliberately refusing to address the association’s demands and spreading misinformation about the financial implications of revising the teacher-student ratio.
She argued that changes could be confined to schools where the number of divisions had declined, without creating any additional financial burden on the government.
The required appointments, she said, would only be those that would otherwise have been made had the divisions not been reduced.
Accusing the government of favouring the aided-school sector, she alleged that the authorities were deliberately avoiding a decision on the issue despite understanding its implications.
Valarmathi also questioned the manner in which she was removed from the protest site. She said the police had dragged her away despite her having been on an 18-day hunger strike and had not handled her with the care required given her physical condition.
Valarmathi alleged that her hospitalisation was intended more to dismantle the protest camp and weaken the agitation than to address her health concerns. She said she had refused to cooperate at the hospital because of the manner in which she was taken there.
Rejecting any possibility of a compromise, Valarmathi said the association would continue its agitation despite police action or cases being registered against its members. She also accused the government of neglecting ordinary job aspirants while protecting interests in the aided-school sector.
“The protest will continue with full intensity,” she said, warning that the government would have to face public resentment if it continued to ignore the concerns of rank-holders.
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Dileep V Kumar)
