In what has become a familiar scene, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on the evening of Monday, February 19, vented his ire against protesting Students' Federation of India (SFI) activists, when he got out of his vehicle and stormed towards the protesters at Mattannur in Kannur district. SFI is the student wing of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
The incident took place when Arif Mohammed Khan was going to the Kannur Airport after visiting Wayanad district. However, the armed security personnel with Arif Khan acted quickly and formed a cordon around him even as he moved towards the protesters, who numbered around 100.
Irked by the SFI protesters' banner with the slogan “Sanghi Governor, get out of Kannur,” an angry Arif Khan shouted, “I will stop my car and get out and come near you every time there is a protest.”
A similar scene had played out on February 15 too, when Arif Khan stepped out of the car after SFI activists waved black flags at him while travelling through Thrissur. There, too, his security men advised him to get inside the car, which he did.
The Governor and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan have been at loggerheads for a while now. On January 27, things went out of hand when Arif Khan during a visit to Kollam district staged a protest by sitting on the road for two hours, alleging “lapse” on the part of Kerala Police for not taking action against SFI protesters who came near his vehicle.
The Union government had intervened that day, as it placed the Governor under Z+ security cover of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
