Rajeev Chandrasekhar's onstage presence hits a political nerve with CPI(M) accusing PMO of politicising event
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's official commissioning of the Vizhinjam International Seaport on Friday appeared to have some politically awkward moments. For one, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State president Rajeev Chandrasekhar's presence onstage hit a political nerve.
Tourism Minister P.A. Mohamed Riyas, seated among the audience with his Cabinet colleagues and other dignitaries, accused the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) of politicising the national event by violating protocol to ensure Mr. Chandrasekhar's onstage presence alongside Mr. Modi.
At the venue, Mr. Riyas somewhat dramatically asked journalists to focus their television cameras on the stage where Mr. Chandrasekhar had seated himself hours before the function commenced.
Lone presence
Occasionally, Mr. Chandrasekhar, a lone presence on the stage for two hours, raised his fist to loud pro-Modi sloganeering by a group of BJP workers sitting near the stage. The activists raised placards hailing the Prime Minister and the BJP.
Mr. Riyas said the PMO decided who should share the stage with Mr. Modi.
It relegated the Ministers and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan to the audience while inserting Mr. Chandrasekhar into the list of persons who would share the stage with Mr. Modi.
He accused the PMO and Mr. Chandrasekhar of political impropriety by allegedly attempting to turn the State function into a BJP political event.
'People now have a clear perspective about the undemocratic and arbitrary nature of the PMO. Kerala will not forgive persons who used the momentous national event for untimely and absurd political theatre,' Mr. Riyas said.
Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] State secretary M.V. Govindan, who was among the audience, told reporters that the Union government had not given a 'single paise' for the project. Vizhinjam was a testimony to the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government's political will and commitment to the State's development. People would see through those 'passers-by' who falsely and ignobly claim credit for Vizhinjam without as much as lifting a finger for the international port, he said.
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