Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan exited his vehicle and staged a sit-in protest in front of a roadside shop, calling for the arrest of SFI activists who had demonstrated against him in Nilamel, Kollam. He took a chair from the shop on the busy MC Road in Kollam and sat by the side of the road, demanding action against the agitators. “I don’t mind black flags being waved but agitators are attacking my car,” alleged the Governor.
In televised footage, a visibly irate Khan confronted police officers, accompanied by his officials and a sizable crowd of locals. The official Kerala Governor's handle on X platform shared that the Union Home Ministry had upgraded Khan's security to Z+ level.
Meanwhile, members of the ruling CPI(M)'s student organisation, the Student Federation of India (SFI), staged a black flag protest against the Governor as he traveled to a nearby function in Kottarakkara.
The Governor came out of his official car in Kollam, chased SFI protestors, and sat on the roadside as a sign of protest. He said that a failed police system brought in such a crisis.
In early January, a parallel incident occurred as SFI activists brandished black flags at Khan during his road journey from Kochi to Thodupuzha. At one point in Idukki, the Governor alighted from his vehicle and interacted with local residents who had emerged from their homes to welcome him.