Kannur: A case has been registered against SFI activists for burning Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s effigy at Payyambalam beach on Sunday evening. Five leaders, including SFI state president K Anusree and 20 other party cadres, have been booked by the Kannur Town Police.

The year 2023 came to an end with no respite to the ugly tussle between the Kerala governor and the CPM-led state government. CPM’s student outfit burnt Governor Arif Mohammed Khan’s effigy at Payyambalam on Sunday evening. The act was done when people in various parts of the state were celebrating the new year's eve. 

Interestingly, Khan’s effigy mirrored the Cochin Carnival model Pappanji. Khan’s effigy was 30-feet tall and was burnt by SFI president Anusree K. SFI had been accusing the Governor of saffronising the universities by appointing pro-BJP officials. The effigy burning is deemed as a protest against the same. 

Speaking to the media, Anusree explained that the effigy was burnt with the hope that in the new year, the Governor would refrain from pursuing a communal agenda in the state's higher education sector. "It is our protest against his communal agenda," she said. She added that Payyambalam beach was chosen for the protest due to its significance as the location of the memorial for Kerala's communist stalwarts from the north Kerala district, including the legendary leader A K Gopalan. There have been verbal duels between the Governor on one side and the CM and the SFI on the other around the issue of appointments made by Khan to the senate of some universities in the state. Khan has claimed that he is being attacked because the state government and the SFI no longer have control over the universities in the state, citing a recent Supreme Court order quashing the reappointment of Gopinath Ravindran as Vice-Chancellor of Kannur University.