A fresh controversy was triggered on Saturday on the tracks of the metro rail as BJP State president Kummanam Rajasekharan travelled along with the VIPs on the inaugural run of the train.
The legitimacy of Mr. Rajasekharan, who is not an elected representative, travelling along with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Governor P. Sathasivam, on the train on its inaugural run was not well-received by a section of the political and administrative spectrum.
Others who accompanied the Prime Minister included E. Sreedharan, the principal adviser to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Chief Secretary Nalini Netto and Elias George, the Managing Director of Kochi Metro Rail Limited, on the inaugural run from Palarivattom to Pathadippalam and back.
The presence of Mr. Rajasekharan on the train alongside the Prime Minister set tongues wagging as elected representatives, including MLAs and MPs, were not accommodated in the first run of the train. The name of Mr. Rajasekharan was missing on the list released by Kochi Metro Rail Limited on the eve of the inauguration.
The representation of the elected representatives at the inaugural ceremony was limited to Kochi Mayor Soumini Jain, Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, K.V. Thomas, MP, and Transport Minister Thomas Chandy on the dais. The State Ministers including A.C. Moitheen, C. Ravindranath, J. Mercykutty Amma, Kadannappally Ramachandran, and K.K. Shylaja, and MPs and MLAs were present in the front row of the audience. The who’s who of Kochi was present to witness the launch of the train.
Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran came out against the travel and demanded an inquiry on whether there was any security lapse on the issue. Responding to the statements, Mr. Rajasekharan said he accompanied the Prime Minister after he received an invitation. He also clarified that he did not inquire about who all were not invited for the journey. The Chief Minister would be in better position to to explain, he said.
Social media went abuzz with trolls on the incident and most of them took jibes at Mr. Rajasekharan.