Shoes hurled at Kerala CM, black flags shown to Governor at separate protests

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala on Sunday witnessed Congress workers throwing shoes at the vehicle of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan near Kochi, while Left Front student activists waved black flags at Governor Arif Mohammed Khan. 

While the protest against the Chief Minister was part of the ongoing protest over corruption allegations against the government,  the protest against the Governor was over allegations of nominating pro-BJP persons to the Kerala University. 

Youth and student activists of Congress threw shoes at the luxury bus in which the Chief Minister and his cabinet colleagues were travelling as part of the ongoing state-wide mass outreach programme 'Nava Kerala Sadas'. The incident took place at Perumbavoor on the suburbs of Kochi. 

CPM workers assaulted the Congress workers causing injuries to some. Congress MLA Eldose Kunnappilly was also allegedly assaulted. Police took some Congress workers into custody. 

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. 

CPM's  student activists who waved black flags at the Governor were held by the police. 

CPM's student wing Students Federation of India (SFI)  had  alleged that the Governor was trying to 'saffronise'  the universities in the state by nominating pro-BJP RSS members to universities using his power as chancellor.