Student Federation of India (SFI), the student wing of CPI(M), staged a protest at Kerala University on Tuesday against Governor and Chancellor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar. The demonstration was in response to the installation of portraits of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologues MS Golwalkar and KB Hedgewar at the Raj Bhavan, which SFI alleged was a move to turn the Governor’s residence into an “RSS shakha.”

Ahead of the Kerala University senate meeting, which the Governor was scheduled to attend, SFI activists displayed portraits of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr BR Ambedkar at the university gate.

They also attempted to display a banner that read, “We need chancellor, not Gandhi assassin Savarkar,” but the police denied permission and removed it. Activists tried raising another banner after the first one was seized.

SFI state president M Sivaprasad questioned why the Governor objected to Gandhi’s portrait, saying, “The Governor’s office informed the authorities that he cannot enter the place where Gandhi’s photo was kept. Even in 2025, the RSS’ revenge is not over after making Godse kill Gandhi.” He further alleged that the Governor was “sent by the RSS to implement its ideology in Kerala.”

The protest took place while the university’s syndicate election was underway, and senate members had gone inside to vote. The Governor later attended the meeting as planned and left after its conclusion.