Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy has sent a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a mark of protest against the PMO's intervention in excluding him from R Sankar's statue unveiling ceremony. The letter says that Central minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy hoodwinked the parliament into thinking that Chief Mininster had sent a letter saying that he will not participate in the function.
In the letter, the Chief Minister also asks the Prime Minister what would be his reaction if such an incident happened during his tenure as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
The PMO's office asked several times whether the Chief Minister will participate in the function. Minister KC Joseph confirmed that the CM had sent a letter to Prime Minister.
"The organizers should reveal the reason for excluding the Chief Minister. Vellapally should explain the situation in which the invitation was withdrawn. The PMO's office did not intervene to prevent the controversy. Vellapally called K Babu on the night of December 11 and told him that there was intelligence report that untoward incidents will happen. However, there is no such intelligence report.  Vellapally himself called the CM on December and told him not to attend the function. The Chief Minister did not attend the function as the organizers asked him several times not to attend. The Prime Minister was not ready to speak to the Chief Minister eventhough he met him at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram," KC Joseph said.
Has conveyed my feelings: Chandy
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy said that he has conveyed his feelings on the incident of excluding him from R Sankar's statue unveiling ceremony. " I thought of avoiding a controversy during the PM's visit to Kerala. It is not congress tradition to react when the Prime Minister visits the state. Though difference of opinion exists, the Prime Minister should be given the respect he deserves. That is why I did not react till the PM returned to Delhi," Chandy said while replying to the  fund utilisation discussion.