THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has said SNDP yogam’s decision to exclude him from the list of invitees, after having invited him initially, was an insult to the people of Kerala.
He said on his Facebook page on Monday that “as per the protocol and basic courtesy, a chief minister is supposed to take part in a programme attended by the prime minister, when that programme is being held in the former’s state.”
“R Shankar was a staunch Congress man till death. As Kerala’s efficient chief minister he was Kerala’s great pride. I thought it would be a great honour to take part in the inaugural function of his statue. I was deeply saddened when people who invited me themselves asked me to keep off the function. This is not a personal matter.
Shankar was a person who set out to put the teachings of Sree Narayana Guru into practice. How can the function linked to this person be a BJP function? If anyone tries to make SNDP yogam a feeder organisation of BJP and RSS, the people of Kerala will not accept it. When a move was seen in this direction people of Kerala stood together cutting across socio-political lines
I am happy and proud to see the strong reaction of secular Kerala against move to make R Shankar’s programme a Sangh Parivar programme. Allowing anyone to attend the statue unveiling function would have been the best way to show respect towards him. Kerala has however responded unitedly against the action done that even his soul would not pardon. The chief minister added the prime minister would hover be extended a warm welcome befitting Kerala culture and tradition. This gesture will underscore our commitment to democratic values. Minister K P Mohan will be here for two more days as minister in waiting. Tomorrow, I shall be there with other ministers at the Thiruvananthapuram airport to see off the prime minister. I shall also take this opportunity to discuss Kerala’s need with the prime minister”
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