LPST rank holders protest: Kerala police remove Secretariat tent, hunger striker Valarmathi taken to hospital
The candidates were on day 128 of their agitation on 10 November, and say removing the tent will not end it.
Written with AI assistance from the sources listed below, then checked against them and reviewed by an editor. How our newsroom works
The LPST rank holders protest in Thiruvananthapuram lost its tent late on Wednesday 11 November, when police dismantled the shelter outside the Kerala Secretariat and moved hunger striker S. Valarmathi to hospital, The South First reported. The Lower Primary School Teacher (LPST) candidates said the agitation would go on.
What police did at the Secretariat
Police had issued a warning and served a notice before acting, but “the protesters refused to vacate the site”, according to The South First. A notice from Cantonment police, described by Malayalam Daily News, asked the candidates to remove the tent, foldable banners, microphone sets and other protest materials.
Valarmathi, who led the hunger strike, “was forcibly taken into custody and shifted to a hospital”, Onmanorama reported. Visuals showed police removing the tents, flex boards and banners. A tussle followed between police, protesters and workers of the DYFI, the youth wing of the CPI(M).
Valarmathi hunger strike and the demand
S. Valarmathi, convener of the strike committee, had gone without food for more than 16 days by 10 November, Malayalam Daily News said. She shaved her head before starting the fast. She appeared for the LPST examination three times before reaching the rank list.
The candidates want the government to guarantee jobs for thousands of people on the rank list who have waited years for appointment. Merely holding a place on the list, Valarmathi has said, does not guarantee employment in the current situation.
The LPST rank list protest after the tent is gone
Hours after her removal, another protest leader named Jayakrishnan took up the fast. “Instead of Valarmathi teacher, I will go on an indefinite hunger strike here,” he told the media. DYFI workers reached the site later on Wednesday and tried to put the tent up again.
The DYFI has criticised the police action. Removing the shelter, the rank holders said, would not end the agitation, and they would carry on without it.
Background: 128 days outside the Secretariat
The indefinite strike “has entered its 128th day” as of 10 November, Malayalam Daily News said. The South First reported that the protest “had intensified after the government sought 45 days to examine the issue”. The candidates complain that the government has not held talks despite the length of the protest.
What happens next for the LPST rank holders protest
The reports carry no response from the Kerala government to the police action. Three things to watch: whether Jayakrishnan’s fast continues, whether the tent goes back up, and whether the government agrees to talks with the LPST candidates.
The police action turns a months-long recruitment dispute into a confrontation at the state's seat of government, with the DYFI criticising it. Thousands of rank-list candidates await appointment, so the hunger strike raises pressure on the government to hold talks. The reports carry no official reply, so the government's next step is unclear.
Named in this story
Sources
- Police remove LPST rank holders' protest tent in front of Secretariat; protester on hunger strike moved to hospital (The South First)
- LPST rank holders vow to continue protest despite eviction; DYFI workers tussle with police over tent (Onmanorama)
- LPST Rank Holders' Protest Enters 128th Day (Malayalam Daily News)