Kerala government vs government: Arif Mohammed Khan removes anti-dissent posters from campus, SFI erects more

On Sunday night, the scene at Calicut University dramatically changed when University Chancellor and Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who has been residing at the university guest house since Friday, personally oversaw the taking down of anti-Kashmir banners erected by the Students Federation of India (SFI).

After attending the son of Palakkad Sadik Ali Shihab Thangal in Kozhikode, the chancellor returned to the guest house in the afternoon and saw three banners with anti-government messages on them. They said, “Mister Chancellor, You are not welcome here,” “Chancellor Go Back,” and “Sanghi Chancellor Wapas Jao.”

Khan sent his staff to take pictures of the banners while he strolled about the campus, expressing his displeasure.

Visibly concerned, the chancellor wrote to the secretary of Raj Bhavan, asking Calicut University Vice-Chancellor M K Jayaraj for an explanation for the banner protest. The chancellor questioned the police for allowing SFI activists to erect the flags on campus and advised the university administration to take immediate action to remove them.

At first, the police refused to take down the banners, saying that the vice-chancellor of the institution should handle the situation. At around 7:00 p.m., the chancellor, filled with rage, walked out of the guest house, scolding Malappuram Police Chief Sasidharan S and demanding that the banners be taken down right away.

“Who instructed you to place the SFI flag there? You proceed to remove it. It won’t be taken out by someone else. You take it out on your own,” the chancellor questioned the head of police.

The chancellor chastised the policeman and threatened to hold him responsible for letting the flag stay up. The chancellor further said that Pinarayi Vijayan will not hold the position of chief minister forever. The chancellor also asked the police whether such banners were allowed, particularly because the governor was staying at the guest house, and they received no reasonable answer.

“You will have to account for it in two or three months if not now. This chief minister’s tenure is not indefinite. How is this banner even here? Will you permit this if the chief minister stays here? Are your eyes not able to view this? Do you want to make fun of me? The governor urged the policeman, “Enough is enough.”

The police authorities took down the banners put up by the SFI as instructed by the chancellor.

Soon after, a delegation of SFI officials under the direction of State Secretary Arsho showed present. A few meters from the guest home, the police set up barriers to prevent the SFI activists from approaching. Unfazed, the SFI activists hung a banner over the barrier that said, “Down Down Chancellor.”

They also painted anti-gubernatorial slogans on the road leading to the institution and raised many more banners along the walk to the guest house.

Banners linked to the seminar the governor is expected to attend at the university on Monday were displayed by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members. SFI activists smashed them in a show of protest.

The SFI members also set fire to a chancellor’s picture that was posted on one of the banners as part of their protest. In the next few days, Arsho said, “More banners against the chancellor will be raised on the university campus.” Additionally, he asked the police officers to put more effort into protecting the chancellor than into taking down the SFI flags from the campus.SFI activists responded to the governor’s measures by claiming that the chancellor is trying to create the impression that the state’s law and order situation is deteriorating. “We will continue to demonstrate against the chancellor using our democratic method. However, it seems like the governor is purposefully upsetting the student body, according to Arsho.

The police have chosen to bolster the protection of the SFI after the dispute between Governor Arif Mohammed Khan and the latter took a sharp turn on Sunday.

Khan is expected to start a talk at the university on Monday, therefore there will be around 2,000 police officers stationed nearby.