Governors decline Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan's dinner invite, but political wrangling continues

The declination of a dinner invitation extended by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his wife to several governors at Cliff House on Sunday evening has ignited political debate. The governors of Kerala, Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar; Goa, P.S. Sreedharan Pillai; and West Bengal, Dr C.V. Ananda Bose, each conveyed their inability to attend the scheduled event.

 

The dinner invitation has drawn sharp criticism from the opposition with Congress leader V.D. Satheesan asserting that the chief minister's move suggested a potential understanding or arrangement between the CPI(M) and the BJP.  He said it's unclear why the governors withdrew from the meeting.

 

Sources suggest that the governors' decision to not attend the dinner stemmed from concerns regarding the potential interpretation of their presence, particularly in light of the ongoing inquiry into Chief Minister Vijayan's daughter, Veena Vijayan, concerning alleged regular financial transactions. The governors reportedly believed that attending the dinner could be misconstrued, given the sensitive juncture of the investigation.

 

This incident follows a prior political contention surrounding a breakfast meeting hosted by Chief Minister Vijayan for Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. The opposition linked that meeting to the inquiry involving Veena Vijayan, as it occurred when the Serious Fraud Investigation Office (SFIO) probe was nearing its conclusion. The SFIO operates under the purview of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, headed by Nirmala Sitharaman.

 

N.K. Premachandran, a Member of Parliament representing Kollam, voiced allegations regarding an "unusual" meeting, while veteran Congress leader and former opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala commented that increased secrecy surrounding the chief minister's meeting agenda only deepened suspicions. Premachandran reiterated that suspicions were natural, given the timing of the meeting coinciding with the advanced stage of the SFIO probe.

 

BJP leader and former vigilance director Jacob Thomas criticized Chief Minister Vijayan for hosting a breakfast meeting with Nirmala Sitharaman at a time when the investigation was proceeding concerning the alleged payments of ₹1.72 crore received by Veena Vijayan from Kochi-based Cochin Minerals and Rutiles Limited (CMRL). 

 

 

 

India