The stand-off between Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the Students’ Federation of India (SFI) at the University of Calicut at Tenhipalam in Malappuram district escalated to dramatic scenes on Sunday night, with Mr. Khan forcing the police to remove some banners put up against him on the campus and the SFI activists erecting them again.
There were no untoward incidents at the university till the evening as the SFI did not stage any protest against Mr. Khan, who stayed at the guest house for the second consecutive day. Hundreds of police personnel continued to stay put on the campus.
In the morning, the Governor went to Kozhikode to attend the wedding of Syed Shaheen Ali Shihab Thangal, the son of Indian Union Muslim League State president Panakkad Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal.
While returning in the afternoon, he objected to the banners against him put up on the campus, especially near the entrance to the university and the guest house. The banners read ‘Mister Chancellor, you are not welcome here’, ‘Chancellor go back’, ‘Sanghi Chancellor wapas jao’.
He was seen asking Raj Bhavan officials to instruct the university Vice-Chancellor to take steps to remove them. However, the banners remained there till the evening. Since it was a holiday, university officials were not in offices and the police reportedly did not wish to enter the campus without a directive from the Vice-Chancellor.
This apparently infuriated Mr. Khan, who came out of the guest house around 7 p.m. and shouted at the police officials, including Malappuram Superintendent of Police S. Sasidharan.
“Don’t think you will go unaccountable, don’t be under that impression... Is the SFI running the university? They will put banners outside the guest house and you will have them there,” he said. Calling the police “shameless people”, he asked them, “You don’t have eyes to see this. You want to insult me. If the Chief Minister is staying here, will you allow this?”
Mr. Khan also said that this Chief Minister was not going to remain there forever. Though Mr. Sasidharan was seen justifying the police action, Mr. Khan did not relent and ensured that all the banners in the vicinity were removed. The Governor also summoned Vice-Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj to the guest house and spoke to him.
Soon after, SFI State secretary P.M. Arsho and other activists arrived and entered into an argument with the police. Mr. Arsho claimed that though Mr. Khan was trying to provoke the SFI, the organisation was holding protests in a democratic way.
Later, SFI leaders raised banners saying ‘Mister Chancellor, this is Kerala’, and ‘Down down Chancellor’. They burned an effigy and another banner put up by pro-BJP activists welcoming Mr. Khan. A protest march too was taken out and slogans were written on the road.
Meanwhile, the SFI is likely to continue its protest when the Governor is expected to open a seminar on the campus on Monday evening. Organised by the Sanatana Dharma Chair of the university, it is titled ‘Sree Narayana Guru, a prophet of renaissance’.
