The LPST rank holders’ protest in Thiruvananthapuram intensified on November 15 after protest committee secretary S Valarmathi was shifted back to the intensive care unit at General Hospital as her health deteriorated during a 22-day hunger strike. The intervention by V D Satheesan and an assurance of talks with the education minister have opened a route towards resolving the agitation, according to a report by the Times of India.
Valarmathi, who has been fasting indefinitely, was examined by a team of doctors from the Government Medical College Hospital, Thiruvananthapuram. Doctors warned that her condition could worsen if she continued the fast. She is currently receiving fluids through intravenous drips, while a special medical team has been constituted on the directions of health minister K Muraleedharan to assess her condition.
The doctors recommended that Valarmathi be shifted to the medical college hospital for more advanced treatment. She was not willing to move, the report said. District collector K S Anju visited General Hospital and met her during the health crisis. Valarmathi’s mother, Yashoda, who is in Elappully in Palakkad district, also expressed concern over her daughter’s deteriorating condition.
The protest has been continuing outside the Secretariat for 133 days. Members of the LPST Rank Holders’ Association are demanding appointments from the rank list. The dispute therefore combines an immediate medical emergency with a longer-running question over how rank-list candidates are considered for appointments in the state’s education system.
Satheesan spoke to Valarmathi and assured her that the education minister would hold talks with the protesting rank holders to end the agitation. The assurance came as medical authorities raised concerns over the consequences of continuing a fast without food or water. The report said Valarmathi had gone without even drinking water during the 22-day strike.
The situation has also drawn political pressure. The opposition CPM urged the government to intervene urgently and resolve the issue while taking Valarmathi’s deteriorating health into account. The demand places the administration under pressure to address both the protesters’ appointment claims and the immediate need to prevent further medical harm.
The next formal step identified in the report is a meeting between the education minister and the rank holders. The outcome of those talks will determine whether the 133-day protest outside the Secretariat is withdrawn and whether the government provides a further response on appointments from the LPST rank list.
