BackCongress slams Kerala for inviting Amit Shah to watch boat race named after Jawaharlal Nehru
Congress is fuming at Kerala’s invitation to Amit Shah for watching a boat race named after Jawaharlal Nehru.
PremiumOn August 27, the opposition Congress criticised the Kerala Left government's invitation to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to participate in a vibrant water sport competition in the southern state named for India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
While the Congress claimed that Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's "loyalty towards the communal forces and his love for the BJP" were shown by the invitation granted to the Union Home Minister.
The administration justified its choice, stating that Amit Shah and the chief ministers of the southern states had been invited to Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha on September 4 to witness the spectacular event as they would be in the region the day before for the 30th Southern Zonal Council meeting.
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The head of the KPCC, K Sudhakaran, sought Sitaram Yechury, the general secretary of the CPI(M), to clarify whether the undue emphasis given by the CPI(M) Kerala section to Sangh Parivar figures has the approval of the party's politburo.
According to Sudhakaran, the chief minister chose to identify those who insulted and neglected Jawaharlal Nehru the most as the chief guests of the boat race that will honour India’s first PM.
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Vijayan should explain why he called Amit Shah, said V D Satheesan, the leader of the opposition in the state Assembly. "It should be clarified whether the Lavalin case or the gold smuggling case against him is the reason for inviting Shah. It underlines the UDF's allegation that there is an unholy relationship between the CPI(M) and the Sangh Parivar leadership in Delhi.
According to Satheesan, the CPI(M) and the Kerala chief minister must clarify the rationale behind the ‘opportunistic’ posture.
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Rejecting the claims, a government source insisted that Shah's invitation to the Southern Zonal Council meeting in Thiruvananthapuram on September 3 was appropriate and had nothing improper about it. Shah will be in the state to attend the meeting.
In addition to inviting Shah, the government has also invited the chief ministers of South Indian states like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, as well as the lieutenant governors of the union territories of Lakshadweep and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, who will be visiting the southern state to attend the zonal council meeting and watch the Nehru Trophy Boat Race.
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In honour of Nehru's visit to Kuttanad in 1952, during his first tour of Kerala following independence, the boat race bears his name. When he arrived in Alappuzha from Kottayam, he was escorted by the enormous snake-boats to a rousing welcome.
Jawaharlal Nehru, who was moved by the response and the intense excitement of sailing in a snake-boat, donated a rolling trophy to be given to the victor. Later, this trophy was given the name "Nehru Trophy".
(With PTI inputs)
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