Kerala Governor accuses CM Pinarayi of hatching a conspiracy to harm him physically

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a major security lapse, members of ruling CPM’s student wing SFI blocked Governor Arif Mohammad Khan’s vehicle right in the heart of state Capital Thiruvananthapuram, banged on the windows and showed black flags.

A completely shaken governor Khan came out of the vehicle in a huff and staged a strong protest against the incident. After coming out of the car, he moved towards the protestors shouting "you are goondas, criminals."

“This attack is part of the conspiracy hatched by the chief minister to harm me physically. It is being done at the instance of the chief minister, he is a party to the conspiracy,” he told media persons who were present at the protest site.

The governor sought to know how the SFI activists managed to come so close to his car. “They are criminals and goondas. I cannot talk to them, they are hitting the glasses and the vehicle. The goondas have taken charge of Thiruvananthapuram, constitutional machinery seems to have collapsed. This has been happening since morning," he alleged.

The SFI had organised similar protests in various parts of the city on Monday.

Opposition leader V D Satheeshan condemned the SFI action against Governor Arif Mohammad Khan. “When you show black flags to the chief minister, it will be termed as an act of suicide squad and a terror attack. Those who showed black flags to the chief minister were brutally attacked with flower pots, iron rods and helmets. The chief minister termed it as a lifesaving act,” he said.

Satheeshan said there was a major security lapse. How did the SFI activists manage to block the governor’s convoy right in the middle of the road and how did they come so close to his vehicle and banged on the windows?

The opposition leader said it is difficult to believe that the SFI action was carried out without the knowledge of the chief minister.

BJP state president K Surendran accused the ruling CPM of unleashing goonda elements to attack the governor. “It’s a highly condemnable act. The CPM is trying to target the governor at the behest of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan,” he said.

The SFI has launched an agitation against Governor Arif Mohammad Khan accusing him of packing various university bodies with Sangh Parivar nominees.

SFI state secretary P Marsho said that the agitation was being carried out democratically.“We are not indulging in violence. The governor has nominated people to two universities based on the list received from the BJP -RSS office. We will oppose any attempt to fill the universities with RSS nominees through the backdoor,” he said and added that his organisation will continue the agitation to defend the higher education sector of Kerala.