The successful 29-day-long students’ agitation at the private Kerala law Academy law College in Thiruvananthapuram, which had received active support from almost major parties except the CPI(M), has led to the worsening of the trust deficit between the that party and CPI, its partner in the ruling lDF it leads.
The stir, held by a joint movement of students’ unions raising removal or resignation of the principal and other demands, was called off on Wednesday. The trust deficit between the two left parties became all the more obvious on Friday with State CPI(M) secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan harshly criticizing the parties that had cooperated with the BJP and its students’ wing ABVP in the law College stir and Kanam Rajendran, his counterpart in the CPI, rejecting it by saying his party needed no advice from others.
CPI’s student outfit AISF, which was leading the stir at the law College, had cooperated with the ABVP, pro-Congress students’ union KSU and MSF, the student wing of Congress ally Muslim league. SFI, the CPI(M)’s student outfit, had withdrawn from the strike halfway through it giving other unions an opportunity to accuse it of betraying the student community.
The BJP, Congress and the Muslim league had stood solidly behind the students and three top leaders of the BJP and Congress observed protest fast to declare solidarity with them while the CPI(M), accused of protecting the law Academy management and principal lekshmi Nair, had termed the strike as a pure academic matter which had nothing to do with politics.
The CPI, a former Congress ally, extended total support to the strike and the visits of its leaders to the venue of the agitation.