Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and two of his cabinet colleagues skipped Prime Minister Narendra Modi's event in Kochi over the reported non-inclusion of state Public Works Minister PA Mohammed Riyas among the invitees.
The Prime Minister was scheduled to launch two critical stretches of the expanded National Highway -66 in Kasaragod and Kozhikode districts, a project in which the state government has invested and in which state PWD minister's role played an important role.
In a reported protest against the exclusion, Riyas and Udma MLA CH Kunhambu held parallel inaugurations and road shows of the National Highway projects in Ramanattukara and Thalapady respectively.
LDF workers shouted slogans against the Union government.
“In the past, whenever NH-related projects are launched or inaugurated, the state PWD minister is also invited. I have attended too. The exclusion of the PWD minister is an insult to the state. This is not good for a democratic system,” Riyas said.
Leader of the opposition VD Satheesan joined forces in targeting the BJP, saying the state PWD minister should have been invited.
However, he also slammed the LDF government and the Union government for inaugurating incomplete NH expansion works.
