Kerala Guv stages roadside protest as SFI members wave black flags

Kollam (Kerala): Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday got out of his vehicle and sat in front of a wayside shop demanding the arrest of SFI activists who protested against him in Nilamel in this district.

He took a chair from the shop on the busy MC Road here and sat demanding action against the agitators.

In the visuals aired on TV channels, a visibly angry Khan could be seen talking tough to the police personnel.

Besides police, his officials and local people gathered in large numbers at the spot.

A number of activists of the ruling CPI(M)'s students' wing Student Federation of India staged a black flag protest against the Governor when he was on his way to nearby Kottarakkara for a function.

Khan and the Left government have been at loggerheads over several issues, primarily about the functioning of universities in the state and his non-signing of certain bills passed by the assembly.

Amid the face-off, on Thursday, the Governor had finished his customary policy address to the Kerala Assembly within two minutes, reading out only the last paragraph.