THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: COVID-19 guidelines are being thrown to the wind during the statewide ‘Aishwarya Kerala Yatra’ led by Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala, said Cultural Minister A K Balan. The tour is being held to highlight the Left Democratic Front’s (LDF) 'entrenched corruption and criminality'.
All the locations of the election tour which began from Kasargod will turn into red zones by the time the Yatra reaches Thiruvananthapuram, Balan said. This is a clear case of violation of COVID protocols, which cannot be accepted, he added.
The minister also said there was an unnecessary controversy over the state film awards. The awards were given away without contact as part of adhering to the COVID protocols. Those who won the awards had not blamed the state government for arranging the event as per the COVID guidelines, he said.
He explained the government stance in the backdrop of criticism by the Opposition leader who had said that the state government has insulted the award winners. The film producer G Suresh Kumar who criticized the government over the issue has some political interests, but the Opposition leader should not have taken up the issue, he said.