Pinarayi skips Loka Kerala Sabha function
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: As the third edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha began here on Thursday, the absence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was slated to preside over a public function, held ahead of the two-day conference, became the talking point. The venue of the function — Nishagandhi auditorium — was jam-packed as the event was open to the public. Minutes before the event was to start, it was announced that the CM would not be attending it as he was unwell and doctors had advised him a day’s rest.
The absence of CM from the function came at a time when he was facing a series of protests across the state in the wake of the revelations by the accused in the gold smuggling case. Pinarayi had also faced an in-flight protest by Youth Congress workers earlier this week. Speaking at the media meet organised as part of the Loka Kerala Sabha on Wednesday, the CM had mentioned about throat-related issues that made it difficult for him to speak.
Though Leader of Opposition V D Satheesan’s name also figured in the list of speakers at the public function, he skipped the event. In Pinarayi’s absence, Speaker M B Rajesh presided over the event. Pinarayi had also skipped the inauguration of a workshop related to school curriculum revision at the Mascot Hotel earlier in the day.
NRKs can help state’s emerging workforce: Guv
Inaugurating the Loka Kerala Sabha, Governor Arif Mohammed Khan said Non-Resident Keralites (NRKs) could help the state’s emerging workforce acquire skills and attributes suitable to a global work environment.
“It would be helpful if Loka Kerala Sabha could think of occasional online interaction programmes for sharing of such knowledge and experience with the younger job seekers of Kerala,” the governor said.
He added that issues related to the continuation of the education of students who had to return due to the Ukrainian crisis also need to be addressed.
Speaker M B Rajesh said it was unfortunate that aspersions were being cast on the Loka Kerala Sabha. While fair criticism was welcome, attempts to degrade the event should be avoided, he added. State ministers, MPs and prominent NRK entrepreneurs were present at the inaugural event.