A visibly infuriated Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, on January 27, staged a protest on the wayside at Nilamel at Nilamel in Kollam alleging police inaction after Student Federation of India (SFI) workers waved black flags at his motorcade.
The Governor, who was on his way to attend a function, stepped out from his car and rushed towards the protestors loudly chastising the activists. He also expressed his ire at policemen for not arresting the SFI workers who showed black flags and staged a protest against him.
The Governor was seen sitting on a chair on the roadside and refused to move unless the protestors were taken into custody. He demanded a copy of the FIR against the protestors. The governor accused the police of protecting the SFI activists. “I will not leave from here. The police are giving them protection.” “Police officials were standing here, protecting them. Who will uphold laws if the police are breaking them?”
Previously, the Governor had stepped out of his car in December last year when faced with a a similar kind of protest in Thiruvananthapuram. Today’s development comes amid unrest between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s Government and the governor.
SFI, a student wing of the ruling CPI (M), has been staging protests against the governor alleging that he has been pushing “BJP-RSS nominees” into various universities in Kerala, using his authority as the chancellor of universities in the State.
(with inputs from ANI)
