An image of Bharat Mata holding a saffron flag seen throughout Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar’s perform on the College of Kerala Senate corridor in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
| Photograph Credit score: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
The controversy over the symbolism of Bharat Mata refuses to die down, as its show at a programme attended by Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar at Kerala College triggered high-voltage protests and a tense stand-off that lasted a number of hours on Wednesday.
The occasion, organised by the Sree Padmanabha Seva Samiti on the college’s Senate Corridor in Palayam to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Emergency, waded into controversy over a Bharat Mata portrait, which has emerged the bone of competition between the State authorities and Raj Bhavan for practically a month.
Slated to start at 5.30 p.m., the programme commenced over an hour late as a result of uproar surrounding the portrait’s inclusion.
College Registrar Ok.S. Anil Kumar had earlier directed the organisers to take away the picture, warning that failure to take action would outcome within the occasion’s cancellation. Nevertheless, the organisers refused to conform, asserting that the picture was an integral a part of their programme and had been utilized in comparable occasions earlier than.
The disagreement shortly escalated as rival scholar outfits, together with the College students Federation of India (SFI), Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) and Kerala College students Union (KSU), mobilised outdoors the venue.
Whereas KSU activists clashed with the ABVP activists and tried to storm the corridor, SFI members had been concerned in a tense face-off with the police. A number of protesters had been forcibly eliminated as fistfights broke out close to the venue.
Among the many attendees had been senior BJP leaders, together with Kummanam Rajasekharan and S. Suresh, who stood by the organisers. The samiti defended the portrait stating, “We invited the Governor because the chief visitor, and he has no position in conducting the occasion. The choice to make use of the picture is solely ours.”
College Syndicate member J.S. Shijukhan referred to as the matter severe, stating that the Syndicate would look at the difficulty. “No illegal or anti-Constitutional exercise might be permitted on the premises. The norms of the college have to be strictly adhered to, and no unsecular exercise will likely be tolerated,” he mentioned.
The police detaining SFI activists who tried to dam the gates to College of Kerala Senate Corridor as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar arrived for a perform in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
| Photograph Credit score:
NIRMAL HARINDRAN
The controversy was additional intensified by remarks from the Governor, who took the stage after a delay and condemned the opposition he confronted. “I don’t perceive why there was resistance to talk. Is there an undeclared Emergency within the State? You will need to permit everyone to talk even should you disagree with their ideology. We live in a democracy, not in Indira Gandhi’s period of Emergency,” he mentioned.
With out naming anybody immediately, the Governor questioned the tradition of intolerance he believed was prevailing. “I’ve no political enmity. I’m not a political chief. However not having confrontation doesn’t imply I’ll compromise on my concepts. This kind of Emergency can’t be tolerated,” he mentioned.
With SFI protesters laying siege outdoors the primary gate of the college headquarters, the Governor’s convoy took one other path to exit the premises.
Printed – June 25, 2025 09:26 pm IST
