Shoes hurled at Kerala CM’s convoy, black flags displayed to Governor at separate protests

In Kerala on Sunday, Left Front student activists waved black flags at Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, while Congress workers threw shoes at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s car near Kochi.

The protest against the Governor was sparked by claims that he had nominated pro-BJP candidates to Kerala University, whereas the protest against the Chief Minister was a component of the larger demonstration against the government over allegations of corruption.

The Chief Minister and his cabinet members were traveling in a luxury bus when young and student Congress activists hurled shoes at it as part of the state-wide “Nava Kerala Sadas” mass outreach initiative.

The incident took place at Perumbavoor on the suburbs of Kochi.

Some of the Congress workers were injured when they were attacked by CPM employees. Eldose Kunnappilly, a Congress MLA, was allegedly attacked as well. A few employees of Congress were detained by police.

The Chief Minister later said that the Congress was making futile attempts to divert attention from the mass outreach programme. He also warned of stern actions against such protests.

The Students Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of the CPM, had claimed that the governor was attempting to “saffronise” the state’s universities by appointing pro-BJP RSS members to positions at universities by abusing his position as chancellor.