Kochi, March 11 – Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other ministers did not attend Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official event in the state on Wednesday, amid a political controversy over the exclusion of the state's Public Works Department (PWD) Minister P A Mohammed Riyas from the event.
While no reason was cited for CM Vijayan's absence, his cabinet colleagues pointed out personal inconvenience in attending the function held in this port city.
The Prime Minister, who visited the state for a day, inaugurated various development projects, including the first stretch of the six-lane expansion of National Highway 66, during the official programme here.
The projects inaugurated included the Thalappady-Chengala stretch of NH 66 and the Vengalam-Ramanattukara stretch of the Kozhikode bypass, both upgraded to six lanes.
Government sources made it clear in the morning that CM Vijayan would not attend the event, despite his name being included in the programme schedule.
State Ministers M B Rajesh and K Krishnankutty, who were invited to the PM's event, also said they were not attending due to personal reasons.
In response, Minister Riyas said he had not received any official communication inviting him to the function and that the move was "politically motivated" and "not befitting a democracy."
He argued that excluding or insulting anyone now would not change the public's perception of who actually made these projects a reality.
He claimed that the state government had played a key role in the National Highway development by facilitating land acquisition and sharing funds.
The PWD minister said the National Highway development project in the state was revived only after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government came to power in 2016, following intervention by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
He further claimed that the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had informed in writing that the project was being abandoned and had shut down its office related to it.
According to the minister, the project was later revived after the LDF government assumed office in 2016, with the CM taking the initiative to bring it back on track.
He further said that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and NHAI officials had on several occasions appreciated the coordination led by the chief minister and the state Public Works Department from the beginning of the project.
Criticising the inclusion of BJP state president Rajeev Chandrashekhar in the event, he sought to know whether the saffron party president should attend such a function instead of the PWD minister.
Riyas added that attempts to "erase the role" of the LDF government in the project would not succeed, as the people of Kerala were aware of the facts.
Meanwhile, M B Rajesh said he had only received information about his inclusion in the programme schedule on Tuesday and had prior engagements in his constituency.
"I am not attending the PM's programme. Yesterday, I only came to know that my name is included in the list. I already have scheduled programmes in my constituency. I don't want to avoid such committed events," he said.
Speaking to the media, Rajesh also said he had a bad experience while attending an event of PM Modi as a state government representative last time in Thiruvananthapuram.
He alleged that SPG officials had asked him to show the Aadhar card even if he possessed a VIP pass approved by the Prime Minister's Office.
Reacting to the development, General Education Minister V Sivankutty termed the exclusion of Riyas as "shocking" and "politically motivated."
He said it was surprising that representatives of the Kerala government were deliberately left out of the function to inaugurate the highway, for which the state had spent substantial funds on land acquisition.
Sivankutty also said Kerala was the first state in the country where a state government directly spent money for the development of national highways.
The minister claimed that sidelining the Public Works Department and the LDF government in connection with the project was a violation of democratic norms.
He also accused the BJP of attempting to use a project, implemented with the "sweat and money" of the state, for "narrow political gains".
However, BJP leaders tried to bring "father-in-law son-in-law" angle into the political row and said Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had been officially invited as per protocol, and there was no need to invite his son-in-law.
BJP president Rajeev Chandrasekhar told reporters that, as per protocol Vijayan, being the head of the state, was invited for Modi's official event, and if the Marxist veteran was aggrieved over his son-in-law (Minister Riyas) not being there, that is his problem.
"As head of the state, the CM was invited in accordance with the protocol. It is nowhere said that the CM's son-in-law (Riyas) and other family members also have to be invited. If they have a problem with it, so be it," the BJP leader said.
"Elections will be held in the state in around 30 days. The CPI(M) is trying to create a controversy now as they know that after 30 days, Vijayan will not be CM and Riyas will not be a minister," Chandrasekhar said.
Senior BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan alleged that the state government and CPI(M) were attempting to consolidate Muslim votes in the upcoming Assembly polls by boycotting the PM's event.