Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Monday, December 18, termed the Students' Federation of India (SFI), the students' wing of the ruling CPI-M, as an organisation of "goondas". The Governor, who is in Kozhikode since Saturday and is about to leave for state capital Thiruvananthapuram, lost his cool while speaking to media persons.

Just before joining a seminar, in reply to a question on the protests staged by the SFI outside the seminar venue, he said, "They are 'goondas' and not students. There are other student organisations too, but the SFI is an organisation of 'goondas'.”

“Did you not see me walking on the streets of Kozhikode before? Was there a single protest then?” he asked.

When a reporter asked how could he call the students 'goondas', a peeved Governor replied, “Get lost," as he walked into the seminar hall.

About 100 m ahead of the seminar hall, the police had erected a barricade to prevent the protesting students from getting close to the meeting venue. However, when some students managed to sneak in, they were taken into custody by the police.

In pictures: SFI is putting up banners against Governor across Kerala