Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was forced to cancel an event organised by three Malayali associations in Madhya Pradesh after the local police informed him about possible threat from right-wing activists affiliated to the RSS.
The CM, who was on his way to the function, was told that VHP and Bajrang Dal activists were protesting against him and had threatened to disrupt the felicitation function. He was advised to cancel the event.
Later, speaking to journalists CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat said the Madhya Pradesh Police had requested Vijayan not to attend the event organised at Bhopal School of Social Sciences, adding that the police said they were helpless against these anti-social elements. “It is outrageous. How can police refuse security to an elected chief minister. It proves that the BJP government in Madhya Pradesh is functioning under the RSS''.
Secretary of Malayali Association O.D. Joseph said, ''The programme went on without the presence of the chief minister who we wanted to honor as he had come to our place. The whole of Malayali community was eagerly looking forward to meeting the chief minister, but unfortunately it could not happen''.
Congress spokesperson K.K. Mishra condemned the incident, dubbing it “a shameful chapter in the history of Madhya Pradesh”. He demanded an unconditional apology from Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan for failing to provide security for the chief minister of a state.
DIG of Bhopal Raman Singh Sikarwar, however, clarified that the chief minister was only advised to delay his visit to the venue due to protest by some Hindu outfits.
Vijayan had come to Bhopal on Sunday morning to attend the XIth National Conference of the All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA). The felicitation programme by the Malayali associations was organised keeping in mind the presence of the chief minister at the conference.
The event, held at Dussehra Maidan in Bhopal, was presided over by AIDWA President Malini Bhattacharya and attend by delegates from twenty states, including Subhashini Ali, Brinda Karat and Vijayan.
Speaking at the meeting, Vijayan asked AIDWA to chalk out a strategy to combat the anti-women policies of the BJP government.
He said although Prime Minister Narendra Modi claims to be pro-woman, the reality shows that this is far from true as there has been unconstitutional ordinances regarding the representation of women in panchayats passed in Rajasthan and Haryana. He further pointed out that the Centre too has been refusing to table the women’s reservation bill.
He also slammed the Centre over demonetisation and took on the BJP over the various scams and scandals in the Madhya Pradesh government.
