As the controversy surrounding the Kerala Chief Minister's private visit to three nations persists, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan entered the fray on Saturday, expressing gratitude to the media for providing information about Pinarayi Vijayan's overseas travel. Despite criticism from the Congress and the BJP regarding CM Vijayan's departure earlier in the week, Governor Khan disclosed that he, too, was unaware of the CM's trip.
Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said: “Has he (CM Vijayan) gone on a foreign visit, I am not aware. Thanks to you (media) for informing me that the CM is on a foreign trip.”
“In the past I had informed the President that the CM doesn’t inform me when he leaves,” said Khan.
CPI(M) Defends CM's Trip
The CPI(M) has come to the defense of the Kerala CM's visit to Indonesia, Singapore, and the UAE, asserting that it was a privately funded trip by the CM and his family, not financed by the state.
The Kerala CPI(M) drew an analogy between Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's foreign trip and God's rest after creating the universe in six days, drawing parallels to the Biblical narrative. In response to controversies surrounding Vijayan and his family's nearly three-week-long tour abroad, CPI(M) central committee member A K Balan clarified that the Chief Minister did not venture into space but rather took a break in Indonesia. According to Balan, Indonesia is only 60 km away from Pygmalion point (Indira point) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
The family is scheduled to return to India on May 21.
News of CM Vijayan's departure on the three-nation journey with his wife and grandson emerged on Monday morning, with his daughter Veena Vijayan, her husband, and state Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas set to join them in Indonesia.