Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy speaking at a press conference. (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia/file photo) Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy speaking at a press conference. (Express photo by Ravi Kanojia/file photo)

A political row has erupted in Kerala after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said Saturday that Vellappally Natesan, general secretary of Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam, had asked him to skip the unveiling of a former Congress CM’s statue by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The PM is scheduled to unveil the statue of former CM R Sanker in Kollam Tuesday. The event is being organised by Yogam, a Hindu Ezhava outfit which has an alliance with the BJP. Sanker, who was Kerala CM from 1962-64, belonged to the backward Ezhava community. Sources said Natesan didn’t want Chandy to turn up at the event. Congress circles have reacted to this by saying Natesan took the decision under duress from the BJP. Organisers had reportedly invited Chandy to preside over the function initially.

On Saturday, Chandy announced his decision regarding not participating in the event. “As per protocol, I should attend the event. But I am keeping away at the behest of the organisers. Natesan told me that I should keep away. There is opposition from certain quarters against the CM attending the function. Hence, Natesan said I should help him by abstaining from the programme. It was he who had initially invited me to preside over the function.”

Reacting to the development, Opposition leader V S Achuthanandan said the move was an insult to the state. “It showed the arrogance of Natesan, who has become an RSS tool,” he said. Congress state chief V M Sudheeran said fascist forces were behind the move.

Sources said there were queries from the PMO on whether Chandy was attending the programme. As the issue sparked a row, Natesan said he does not want to spoil the event by getting into a debate.

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