Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan and two of his cabinet colleagues skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s event in Kochi on Wednesday over the reported non-inclusion of state Public Works Minister PA Mohammed Riyas among the invitees.
Among a slew of development projects for the state, the Prime Minister was scheduled to launch two critical stretches of the expanded National Highway -66 in Kasaragod and Kozhikode districts, a project in which the state government has invested and in which state PWD minister’s role played an important role.
In a reported protest against the exclusion, Riyas and Udma MLA CH Kunhambu held parallel inaugurations and road shows of the National Highway projects in Ramanattukara and Thalapady respectively. LDF workers shouted slogans against the Union government.
“In the past, whenever NH-related projects are launched or inaugurated, the state PWD minister is also invited. I have attended too. The exclusion of the PWD minister is an insult to the state. This is not good for a democratic system,” Riyas said.
He also slammed the inclusion of state BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the official government function. “If the state BJP chief is invited, shouldn’t the leaders of other parties like CPI(M) and CPI and Congress be invited too? Should the BJP chief be invited in place of the state PWD minister?,” he asked.
At the same time, leader of the opposition VD Satheesan joined forces in targeting the BJP. He said the state PWD minister should have been invited. “This is not a personal event of the BJP. This is a government event. When roadways-related projects are inaugurated, the PWD minister has to be invited,” he said.
However, he also slammed the LDF government and the Union government for inaugurating incomplete NH expansion works. “Only a few stretches of the NH-66 are complete while a vast portion remains under construction. Shouldn’t the highway be inaugurated when it’s fully complete?” he asked.
Though the chief minister’s office did not issue a statement on why Vijayan boycotted the event, people aware of the matter said Riyas not being invited to the event was the trigger. Though power minister K Krishnankutty and local self-government minister MB Rajesh were invited, they gave it a miss citing other official engagements.
LSG minister Rajesh said the people of the state would give a befitting response to the BJP for the “insult” in the upcoming elections. “I was invited to the event very late and the PWD minister was excluded. It shows the politics of the BJP,” he said.
However, BJP leaders said there was no violation of protocols. “The chief minister is the head of the state and he has been invited. Should his son-in-law be invited too? The CM had ample time to state who should accompany him at the event,” quipped Chandrasekhar.
