The reports from Thiruvananthapuram hint at the alleged CPM conspiracy against Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. SFI men carried out black flag demonstration against him late in the evening on December 11 while he was on the way to the airport. He stepped out of the car and accused CM Pinaryi Vijayan of deliberately plotting to harm him physically.
He said that CPM criminals rule the roads. He said that the ‘bloody criminals banged on his car’. He asked the SFI goons: “Are you going to hit me”? He asked if the Police is going to allow the goons to hit the CM’s car. He said, ‘CM hatches the conspiracy to harm him (Governor) physically, as happened in Kannur (He was obviously referring to the History Congress incident of December, 2019. Governor had alleged at that time, Historian Irfan Habeeb tried to manhandle him. He had also alleged at that time that the then Vice Chancellor Gopinath Raveendran had supported Habeeb).
He said that he would not let the goons rule the roads. If CPM is a party to the conspiracy, what can he do, he asked.
After the History Congress incident, Governor had alleged that CM was ‘harbouring’ a CPM leader, who allegedly facilitated the ‘attempt on his life’, in the CM’s office. Now, the Governor warns the government against threatening and scaring him.
The latest black flag demonstration is against the governor’s ‘alleged attempt to convert universities into Sangh parivar centres’. At Pettah Junction of Thiruvananthapuram, SFI men intruded into the highway and forced the Governor’s car to stop immediately. A mobile phone visual aired by the Malayalam news channels showed the activists mobbing the Governor’s car. It is alleged that the SFI men hit the car with the flag sticks. The black flag protests took place in several places in the city.
The incident has invited the wrath of both the Congress-led opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) and BJP. BJP state president K. Surendran alleged that it was an attack against the Governor. BJP would defend the Governor from the CPM violence. He said that the state witnessed a total collapse of law and order. CM Pinarayi Vijayan is aware of this attack on the Governor. And, state police facilitated it. He asked the CM to rise above the level of a local CPM worker.
KPCC President K. Sudhakaran MP said that is is a black day of breakdown of law and order. LoP V.D. Satheesan said that CM Pinarayi Vijayan is well aware of the SFI agitation, and he has approved it.
SFI’s black flag demonstration against the Kerala governor crosses all limits. When the Governor visited a private hotel on December 10, SFI cadres congregated there and carried out black flag demonstration. They were reported to be protesting, alleging that ‘Governor tries to convert the universities in the state into Sangh parivar centres’. SFI state secretary declared that the agitation will be intensified in the coming days. He was referring to the recent nominations to the Senate and Syndicate of Kerala and Calicut Universities. And, police arrested twenty SFI workers in this connection. They were released on bail after some time.
The black-flag demonstrations on December 11, took a new turn. It is a blatant and serious attack against the Constitutional head of the state. This is part of the fascist design of the ruling apparatus. This is against the spirit of democracy. Reports suggest that there was an intelligence report about the possible SFI agitation, but there was no step from the police to stop it.
When the SFI men protested before Raj Bhavan on December 7, they jumped the barricades and reached the main gate. It happened because the police did not act properly. The same police give all possible protections to the Nava Kerala Sadas led by the CM. Black flag protesters are always stopped and taken into custody by the police and DYFI men attack them brutally. And, CM called such DYFI attacks as ‘rescue operations’. To save them (Youth Congress protesters) from ‘suicide attempts’ !
