SFI’s protest before Kerala Raj Bhavan over photos of RSS leaders

The police chase a Students Federation of India (SFI) activist who attempted to breach the security to stick a poster of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Rajbhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday. | Photo Credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN

Activists of the Students Federation of India (SFI), the students’ wing of the ruling CPI(M), on Monday staged a protest in front of Raj Bhavan here against the alleged display of the photos of RSS leaders at Governor’s official residence.

A section of protesters tried to run into the campus of the Governor’s official residence, but the police swiftly stopped them using force.

A section of the media reported recently about the display of photos of RSS founder K B Hedgewar and ideologue Golwalker along with that of Bharat Mata in Raj Bhavan.

Raising slogans against Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, the Left student activists held photos of Mahatma Gandhi and B R Ambedkar in their hands and insisted on pasting them on the Raj Bhavan compound walls.

While being shifted to the police vehicle forcibly, many protesters could be heard saying that Raj Bhavan is not the personal property of the Governor.

Earlier in the day, SFI State secretary Sanjeev P S, in a Facebook post, described Mr. Arlekar as an RSS leader and said Raj Bhavan is not his ancestral property. However, he did not say any other details in the social media post.

The fresh row erupted days after the Raj Bhavan’s usage of Bharat Mata portrait at an Environment Day event was strongly objected to by the leadership of the CPI, the second-largest coalition partner in the ruling LDF.

CPI leader and Agriculture Minister P Prasad, who had boycotted the event, said that those in constitutional offices cannot convert government programmes into political events.

A similar view was also expressed by CPI(M) leader and General Education Minister V Sivankutty.

However, the Governor justified the act and made it clear that “Whatever be the pressure, from whichever quarters, there will be no compromise whatsoever on Bharat Mata.”

Published - June 17, 2025 12:11 am IST