Thiruvananthapuram: Chief minister V D Satheesan on Wednesday said there is no change in his position on the remarks made by Kanthapuram Aboobacker Musliyar.Satheesan was responding to reports that leaders of the AP faction of the Sunni Muslim community had met him to protest his remarks against Kanthapuram and that he subsequently changed his position. He said the leaders had sought an appointment with him three weeks ago and had arrived in Thiruvananthapuram at the time he was addressing the media.“My position was clearly stated to the media. There has been no change in it. I stand by it,” Satheesan said. He also said the live stream of his news conference is still available on Instagram and Facebook, though Instagram’s algorithm meant that the entire programme was not posted. He said a cross-post had been removed, which led to some media reports that he had deleted the post.Satheesan said those who disagrees with his position has every right to criticise him. “In a democratic system, they have the right to write against me and issue statements against me. I have a position and I stand by it. The public will assess everything,” he said.The chief minister also said he is not beyond criticism. “If someone criticises me, they are not my enemies. Sometimes criticism is made correctly and sometimes incorrectly,” he said.Satheesan also rejected the media reports that the number of personal staff appointed by him and other ministers is excessive.He said the present govt has so far appointed 476 personal staff members, compared with 787 appointed by the previous Pinarayi Vijayan govt.“My personal staff has 31 members,” Satheesan said, adding that the law permits further appointments.He said ministers have been advised to limit their personal staff to a maximum of 25 and that no minister in the present govt has appointed more than 25 people. Several ministers, he added, has not appointed as many staff members as they are entitled to.On the incident involving a person who allegedly blocked his vehicle during his journey to Chempazhanthy, Satheesan said he had accepted the person’s apology.“When that person came out of jail and apologised to me, I felt that he had become bigger and I had become smaller. I have forgiven him. I have no animosity,” Satheesan said.Satheesan denied reports that Congress functionary Rahul Gandhi had given him any direction on the PM SHRI scheme. He said that neither he nor Gandhi had publicly disclosed the contents of their conversation.He said the issue had not been discussed at the KPCC meeting either. “We have not taken a decision on the PM SHRI issue. The cabinet subcommittee is examining it. We will inform you once a decision is taken,” he said.
