Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s hostility towards the Union External Affairs Minister, S. Jaishankar, stems from his antagonism towards the federal system, BJP State president K. Surendran has said.
Even the presence of the Union Minister seems to make the Chief Minister restless, he said.
It is not the Union Minister who overstepped the Centre-State boundaries but it was the Chief Minister and his Cabinet members who violated the protocol. Mr. Vijayan should explain on what authority his government directly interacted with the consulate of a foreign nation, Mr. Surendran said.
He questioned why the Chief Minister should feel peeved about the Union Minister visiting the Kazhakkuttom bypass project, which is a project of the Central government. He alleged that Mr. Vijayan’s hostility was perhaps because of the fear that the diversion of Central funds might be brought to question
He said that a Union Minister was well within his rights to inspect a development project sanctioned by the Centre.