Not clear why left out of event: Chandy to Modi

Thiruvananthapuram: Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Wednesday said he doesn't know why he was first invited him to an event which Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended and then the invite was taken back.

On Tuesday, Modi unveiled the statue of former chief minister R. Sankar at Kollam in the presence of state BJP president V. Muraleedharan and Hindu Ezhava leader Vellapalli Natesan.

In a letter to Modi, Chandy said: "The organisers said it is a private function and they have the right to invite or not invite guests.

"I fully agree with that. But after inviting me and including my name in the notice and plaque of the programme, Natesan was forced to withdraw the invitation due to unknown reasons.

"All political parties except the BJP have said this is an insult to the people of Kerala. Usually I keep away from controversies, and it is surprising that the PMO hasn't intervened to avoid controversies.

"I wish to know what would have been your reaction if such an incident happened in Gujarat while you were the chief minister?"

At a hurriedly called press conference, Information and Public Relations Minister K.C. Joseph said that last week the PMO had called Chandy to find out if he would attend the function.

Joseph asked Natesan to come clean on what was the reason for keeping out Chandy from the function.