Beleaguered former principal of Kasaragod Govt College goes on leave after SFI protest

Mangalore Today News Network

Kasaragod, Feb 28, 2023: The beleaguered former principal in-charge of Kasaragod Government College has gone on leave amid the Students Federation of India’s demands for her ouster from the college.

In a statement, Dr M Rema said she was going on leave to seek treatment for the health problems caused by the "attacks by the SFI", the student wing of the ruling CPM.

"SFI, which upholds no morals in its protests or campaigns, is bent on killing me for not yielding to its whims," she alleged. "I cannot succumb to its tactics," she said.

Dr Rema said she was also going on leave to avoid a situation that could lead to more loss of classes considering exams were near. She said she had been working without even taking her due leave. "I’m using those leaves and taking rest," she said.

Last Thursday (February 23), Minister for Higher Education R Bindu removed Dr Rema from the post of principal in-charge after she locked up around 15 students who came to her chamber seeking a solution to the turbid drinking water coming from the water filter.

She allegedly told students that she did not have time for it, forcing them to go on a protest.

SFI’s college unit president Akshay M K told OnmanoRema.com that Kasaragod Town Police charged 10 identified students and 50 unidentified students with an attempt to murder based on a complaint filed by Dr Rema. "The police could have checked the CCTV footage before dragging students into the legal quagmire," he said.

The situation became murkier after Dr Rema said in an interview that the problems were being created by students who got admission through reservation.

In a statement released on Sunday (February 26), she apologised for the comment and said she was emotionally agitated during the interview. "I realised the mistake and asked the reporter not to carry a comment. It was expunged from the interview. No channel or newspaper carried it," she said.

"But SFI leaders managed to get the unpublished part and spread it on social media to malign me. People should realise the facts and discard the campaign unleashed by the SFI," she said.

However, Akshay said the SFI would not allow Dr Rema, who teaches statistics, to step into the campus again.

Meanwhile, the original problem of drinking water has not been solved yet. Dr Rema had sent a sample of water from the filter for testing, and the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) found the presence of e.coli bacteria. While the count should be zero, the sample from Kasaragod Government College had 16 counts of e.coli per 100ml, said KWA.

Dr Rema had reportedly claimed that the water was safe for drinking.