The Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in Kerala on Wednesday boycotted the official inauguration of various projects by the Prime Minister in Kochi in protest against excluding state Public Works Minister P A Mohammed Riyas from the function. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his two cabinet colleagues, Local Self-Government Minister M. B. Rajesh and Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty, abstained from the event in Kochi.
Following the controversy over the exclusion of state Public Works Minister Mohammed Riyas from the event, a parallel inauguration of the Ramanattukara-Vengalam reach of the national highway 66 was held in Kozhikode on Wednesday by leaders of the ruling LDF.
The protest event, launched with a roadshow near Ramanattukara, was led by Mohammed Riyas. LDF leaders and local body members were among the protesters. They shouted slogans against the Union government flaying the exclusion of the Minister from the official function. The LDF leaders accused BJP of being behind the “deliberate exclusion”.
The parallel inauguration of the National Highway 1 Reach Thalappadi-Chengala Reach was performed by CPM leader CH Kunjambu MLA. This function was held at Nullipadi, Kasaragod on the National Highway.
Meanwhile, BJP state president Rajiv Chandrasekhar said that the state government had boycotted the inauguration ceremony of national highway development projects attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create unnecessary controversies. The head of the state government is the Chief Minister. “The Chief Minister is invited to the program, it is not written anywhere that the Chief Minister’s son-in-law should be invited. If that is a problem for them, then so be it. As per the protocol of the central government, the Chief Minister, who is the head of the state government , has been invited to the program,” he said.
“Where is it written that the son-in-law and family should be invited along with the Chief Minister when inaugurating the central government’s projects? Let the Chief Minister decide who should come with him. There are thirty days left for the elections. CPM is a party that is looking for controversy. They know that Pinarayi Vijayan will not become the Chief Minister after 30 days and Riyas will not become a minister. The aim is to create some controversy. The media should not be involved in it, ” he said.