Bharatiya Janata Party state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Saturday said that while everyone was celebrating the commissioning of the Vizhinjam International Seaport, "a son-in-law of a Communist royal family" was unhappy about it— an apparent reference to Kerala PWD Minister PA Mohammed Riyas.
The BJP leader’s remark came in response to a Facebook post by Riyas, in which the minister shared a photograph of himself along with state Finance Minister KN Balagopal and CPI(M) state secretary MV Govindan, captioned: "We are in the audience and Rajeev Chandrasekhar is on the stage."
Chandrasekhar said he arrived early at the venue and went to the stage as he wanted to meet the BJP workers.
During the inauguration, when they shouted “Bharat Mata ki Jai,” he too joined them.
Also read: PM inaugurates Vizhinjam Port in Kerala, mocks INDIA bloc
"Seeing all this, the son-in-law of the Communist royal family has a problem— he is unhappy. I don’t know the reason for his unhappiness, as I am neither a doctor nor a psychologist. Let him go to a doctor and get medicine for his unhappiness," Chandrasekhar said while speaking at a party event.
Riyas, who is the son-in-law of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has not yet responded to Chandrasekhar’s comments.
Chandrasekhar further said that if the Left is unhappy with such events, there will be more unhappiness in the days to come.
He also claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was right in saying many would have sleepless nights, adding, "CPI(M) social media handles have been trolling me since last night." Meanwhile, former BJP state chief K Surendran backed Chandrasekhar and said that if Riyas was unhappy with the seating arrangements at the venue, "he should take it up with his father-in-law".
Surendran said the state government decided which ministers should be seated on the stage.
He added that Chandrasekhar had arrived early at the venue in accordance with SPG protocols for events attended by the Prime Minister.
Surendran also pointed out that CPI(M) MPs John Brittas and AA Rahim, Congress MLA M Vincent, and Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran were present on the stage well before the PM’s arrival, but no one ridiculed them for it.
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