THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The UDF leadership has decided not to attend the swearing in of the second Pinarayi government. Taking a dig at Chief Minister elect Pinarayi Vijayan's decision to hold a mega event of 500 people attending the swearing in at Central Stadium on Thursday when Thiruvananthapuram district is undergoing a triple lockdown, UDF convener M M Hassan said the Opposition will watch the “virtual” swearing in from the confines of their homes.
Despite getting flak from various quarters, Pinarayi had decided to go ahead with the mega swearing in ceremony programme at Central Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, on Thursday at 3:30 pm. The General Administration Department is making arrangements to issue 500 passes to the invitees. It was at this juncture that the UDF decided to boycott the mega event. The UDF leadership was of the opinion that the LDF government should have held a simple programme attended by ministers alone. Talking to reporters at Indira Bhavan, Hassan informed that none of the UDF leaders will be attending the swearing in programme.
"We are not boycotting the programme, but abiding by what the Chief Minister elect had requested. He had asked that the swearing in programme should be watched on the television which led us to decide to watch it virtually," said Hassan.
The LDF has decided to invite 140 MLAs, 20 MPs and party workers with a total capacity of 500 invitees. This had drawn flak from a cross section of people including celebrities and the common man when ordinary citizens are confined to their homes due to the triple lockdown enforced in four districts, including Thiruvananthapuram. But on Monday, Pinarayi maintained that 500 is not a large number which triggered further debate on social media.