Kerala governor confronts SFI activists holding black flag protests, again

Kerala governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday, 19 February, again stepped out of his vehicle and confronted activists of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) who waved black flags at his convoy at Mattannur town in Kannur district.

The incident occurred when Khan was on his way to the airport in Kannur after visiting family members of those killed in wild animal attacks in neighbouring Wayanad district.

As the governor's convoy passed through the town, a group of SFI activists tried to jump in front of his vehicle and waved black flags at him. Irked over the action of the Left student activists, an angry Khan ordered for his vehicle to stop, got off, and walked toward the agitators.

"Come...come...," he told the protesters who were raising slogans against him.

Though the police and his security personnel tried to pacify him, governor Khan was not willing to budge, causing tense moments. Later, his staff and security personnel calmed him down, following which Khan got into his vehicle again.

"Anywhere they come near the car, i will get down," he told the police before resuming his journey after spending five minutes on the busy road.

The Mattannur incident comes weeks after the governor staged a wayside protest at Nilamel in Kollam demanding the arrest of SFI activists who protested against him, borrowing a chair from a shop on the busy MC Road and sitting in it, demanding action against the agitators.

The SFI has been staging protests against the governor for some time now, accusing him of attempting to "saffronise" the universities in the state.