Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s trip abroad with his family has led to a political storm in Kerala, with both the Congress and the BJP raising questions about its timing and the costs involved.
Along with wife Kamala and grandson Ishan, Vijayan left Monday for a trip that will cover the UAE, Indonesia, and Singapore. This comes 10 days after Kerala voted in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26. However, with the seven-phase elections heating up in other parts of the country, the prominent CPI(M) leader’s absence has raised eyebrows. At the national level, the CPI(M) is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, which includes the Congress.
Vijayan’s trip comes days after his son-in-law, Kerala Public Works minister PA Muhammed Riyas, also left for a family vacation abroad. The Chief Minister is likely to return to Kerala in the third week of May.
“Why is he (Vijayan) running away from the state like this? Who is financing the foreign tour? Is it government money or sponsorship?” asked Congress state president K Sudhakaran.
BJP state president K Surendran said the people have a right to know who is financing the CM’s tour. “Can CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechury or party state secretary MV Govindan say where Vijyan has gone?” I have asked.
Union minister V Muraleedharan of the BJP also commented on the issue, saying the trip exposed the CPI(M)’s hypocrisy. “Like Nero, who played the fiddle while Rome burned, the Kerala CM is currently in Dubai while the sweltering heat continues to torment the people of Kerala. This clearly reflects Pinarayi Vijayan’s apathy and exposes CPI(M) hypocrisy of being the messiah of commoners,” he said in a post on X.
Officials from the Chief Minister’s Office said there would be no official statement to the media from the CMO regarding Vijayan’s trip. They also said that he had not given over charge to any other minister. “When he had been in the US for month-long medical treatment, the charge of the CM was not handed over to any of his Cabinet colleagues,” officials said, adding that no one had been tasked with chairing the weekly Cabinet meeting either.
CPI(M) central committee member and LDF agree EP Jayarjan said Vijayan’s trip was undertaken as per norms. “He has informed the party and the government about the trip,” he said, adding that it was not necessary to reveal the financial details.
On Vijayan’s absence from the campaign trail for Left candidates elsewhere in the country, Jayarajan said, “We (the party) will decide which leader will go where and speak.”
While Vijayan had been leading the Left’s campaign against the Congress and BJP in Kerala, he has not campaigned for the INDIA bloc outside the state.
Congress state vice president T Siddique said, “The CPI(M)’s agenda in this election was only to speak against Rahul Gandhi. After polling in Kerala is over, all CPI(M) leaders are resting. Vijayan has gone for a foreign tour. Why don’t they go to other states to campaign for the INDIA bloc? Their reluctance shows that the CPI(M)’s concern is limited to Kerala and to defeating Congress.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 07-05-2024 at 20:46 IST
