What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
Ernakulum – Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s foreign trip along with family has led to a political storm which is vehemently criticized by the Congress and the BJP who has called the trip a waste of public money and has questioned the ‘need’ and ‘timing’ of the trip when there are various issues plaguing the people of the state.
CM Pinarayi Vijayan is accompanied by his wife Kamala Vijayan, daughter Veena Vijayan, and her husband Mohammed Riyas for the trip to three countries – UAE, Indonesia, and Singapore. However, the purpose of the trip which is not being disclosed by the Chief Minister’s office has led to a euphoria of questions which has now been asked by the opposition leaders.
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Chief Minister and family have embarked on the 12-day trip of May 6th from the Kochi International Airport. The Chief Minister’s office was tight-lipped when contacted for the travel. 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.
Union minister V Muralidharan lashed out at the Chief Minister and the CPI (M), 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 reflects Pinarayi Vijayan’s apathy and exposes CPI (M) hypocrisy of being the messiah of commoners,” he said in a post on X.
“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.
However, LDF convener EP Jayarajan hit out at the media and defended the Chief Minister where stating that it is not the media’s prerogative to track the Chief Minister’s foreign trips and that the CM had informed the concerned leadership of the CPI (M) on the purpose of his travel to three countries in advance.
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“Why are you making it a controversy? There is no breach of rules in his trip. Every time he follows the procedures while going abroad. He won’t do anything which should not be done. I had talked to him on his trip in the past days,” Jayarajan said.
On who will bear the expenses for his trip, Jayarajan asked if the media would pay for the same. “Why do you want to know about the sponsor? Should we tell everything to the media,” he asked.
On expected lines, the social media has been flooded with trolls and clarifications by CPM supporters for the past 24 hours with many accusing the Chief Minister of allegedly ignoring the various issues concerned with the state and then traveling abroad with family while few CPM sympathizers defending Chief Minster saying that a Chief Minister need not reveal all details of his foreign trip to the media and the public.
