Thiruvananthapuram: The Students' Federation of India (SFI) on Tuesday continued its protests against Governor Arif Mohammad Khan by showing him black flags and banners when he went to the Dental College here reportedly for some treatment. Meanwhile, the Muslim League called out the escalating rift between the two as 'drama' before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
SFI displayed a banner stating -- 'We want Chancellor, not Savarkar' -- outside the Dental College. The CPI(M)'s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), also joined the SFI's protest by putting up a banner -- 'Sanghi Chancellor quit Kerala' -- on the route to the college. Besides these, SFI activists also allegedly showed black flags to the Governor when he returned to the Raj Bhavan.
The ongoing row between the SFI and the Governor in the state has been witnessing dramatic scenes starting with the student outfit's activists allegedly attacking Khan's vehicle last week and putting up banners in Calicut University calling him a 'sanghi', while he retaliated by calling them 'bullies', 'criminals' and 'goondas'. Khan also hit the streets of Kozhikode city on Monday to show there were no protests against him. When he returned to the capital city that evening, there were protests against him at various places along the route from the Thiruvananthapuram airport to the Raj Bhavan.
The SFI also put up banners against Khan in several colleges across the state and also burnt his effigy. The dramatic scenes and verbal duels between the Governor on one side and the CM and the SFI on the other are over the issue of appointments made by Khan to the senate of some universities in the state.
Khan has claimed that he was being attacked as the state government and the SFI no longer have control over the universities in the state given the recent Supreme Court order quashing the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as Vice Chancellor of Kannur University. The apex court had also berated the Left government for its "unwarranted intervention" in the matter.
Row between Guv and Kerala govt just 'drama', alleges IUML
The Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) termed the escalating tussle between the duo as a "drama" ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Senior IUML leader P K Kunhalikutty claimed that both the governor and the state government had political interests, and the Congress-led UDF would ultimately benefit from the tussle during the polls. IUML is the second largest coalition partner in the opposition UDF in the southern state.
Addressing reporters in New Delhi, Kunhalikutty accused the CPI (M)-led government in Kerala of "misusing" all government machinery. On the other side, the Governor was not upholding the decency and greatness of his position, he alleged. "What both of them are doing now is just drama. Lok Sabha polls are just two or three months away. All these will finally turn in favour of UDF (during the election). There is no doubt about it," he said.
He said while growing conflicts between the governor and the LDF government, the people in the state will consider the Congress-led UDF as a more serious or credible option.
Further criticising the Pinarayi Vijayan government, he said there was no need to conduct the Nava Kerala Sadas, their ongoing outreach programme as people would see it only as an election campaign. He also termed Governor Khan's tour through a busy street in Kozhikode as a mere "show".
However, the IUML leader made it clear that the UDF did not support granting undue power to Governors. He said not just Kerala but other non-BJP-ruled states were also facing similar interference in functioning by Governors and an upcoming meeting of the opposition coalition INDIA would discuss the matter, he added.
(with PTI inputs)
