Political Tensions Rise as Leaders Skip Event
“I had not received any official communication inviting him to the function and termed the move ‘political’ and ‘not befitting a democracy’,” stated P A Mohammed Riyas, the state’s Public Works Department Minister, regarding his absence from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official event in Kochi on March 11, 2026.
Riyas’s comments come amid a political row that has intensified in Kerala, where Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and several ministers notably skipped the event. The Prime Minister was present to inaugurate various development projects, including the six-lane expansion of National Highway 66.
State Ministers M B Rajesh and K Krishnankutty also did not attend, with Rajesh explaining, “I am not attending the PM’s programme. Yesterday, I came to know that my name was included in the list. I already have scheduled programmes in my constituency.” Their absence has raised eyebrows and sparked discussions about the underlying motivations.
Riyas further claimed that he had not received any official invitation, which he interpreted as a deliberate exclusion. He described the situation as politically motivated, a sentiment echoed by General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who labeled the exclusion of Riyas as “shocking” and “politically motivated”.
The backdrop to this controversy lies in the revival of the National Highway development project, which was initiated after the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government took power in 2016, following Chief Minister Vijayan’s intervention.
BJP leaders have countered these claims, asserting that the Chief Minister was invited according to protocol and that the exclusion of Riyas was unnecessary. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a BJP leader, emphasized, “As head of the state, the CM was invited in accordance with the protocol.”
Additionally, BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan alleged that the state government was attempting to consolidate Muslim votes by boycotting the PM’s event, further complicating the political landscape.
The projects inaugurated during the event included significant stretches of the National Highway, such as the Thalappady-Chengala stretch and the Vengalam-Ramanattukara stretch of the Kozhikode bypass.
Kerala has historically been a pioneer in national highway development, being the first state in India to directly allocate state funds for such projects.
As the political situation evolves, the implications of these absences and the surrounding controversies will likely continue to unfold in the coming days.
