Kollam: Amid the tug of war between political parties on claiming the credit for completing the bypass, Eravipuram MLA N. Naushad and Kollam Mayor V. Rajendra Babu were excluded from the inaugural programme attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Chavara MLA N. Vijayan Pillai was included at the last minute.
Mr N.K. Premachan-dran MP termed it a gross violation of protocol. “While an MLA from Thiruvananthapuram was given a seat on the dais, it is violation of protocol to avoid an MLA of the area through which the road passes,” Mr. Premachandran told DC.
It is learnt that the names listed for the programme were changed at least 11 times before finalising.
Along with MLAs M. Naushad, N. Vijayan Pillai and Mayor V. Rajendra Babu, Forest Minister K. Raju was also exempted in the first stage despite the names being recommended by the state government. They were later included following pressure from it. Government sources allege deliberate exemption of Mr. Naushad and Mr N. Rajendra Babu from the programme as part of the BJP’s hidden agenda.
BJP state president P.S. Sreedharan Pillai said the state government was trying to sabotage the PM's programmes by raising controversies. He also slammed Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the bypass controversy.
