THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ruling CPI(M) in Kerala on Friday likened Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's foreign trip to God's rest after creating the universe in six days, drawing a parallel to the Biblical narrative.
Responding to controversies surrounding Vijayan and his family's nearly three-week-long foreign tour, CPI(M) central committee member A K Balan said the Chief Minister did not go to space; he simply took a break in Indonesia, which, according to the veteran leader, is only 60 km away from Pygmalion point (Indira point) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
He said Vijayan went abroad to relax after enduring unimaginable strain due to administrative and organisational activities.
"What's the problem for you in allowing him a rest? He went to a place within calling distance. Everything being spread about this is a myth," Balan told reporters.
He said the Chief Minister conducted the Nava Kerala Sadas programme, travelling across the state for 30 days, and later addressed election rallies for at least four hours a day for one month.
"Even God rested for one day after creating the universe in six days. That day is Sunday. Are you saying that the Chief Minister can't even do that?" Balan said, drawing from the theological narration in the Old Testament of the Bible where it is written that after creating the universe in six days, God rested on the seventh day.
He further clarified that the Chief Minister did not go to outer space.
"Isn't this a country within a reachable distance where one can answer our call? Campbell Bay, the southern village of India in Andaman Nicobar, is three degrees of longitude farther than Kanyakumari. It is only 60 km from its southern tip, Pygmalion point (Indira point), to Indonesia," Balan said.
According to the National Maritime Foundation, the distance between Indira Point in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Banda Aceh in Indonesia is just 80 nautical miles.
"If you call Pinarayi Vijayan, it is a place where he can be heard," Balan said, questioning the doubts being repeatedly raised about the CM's foreign tour despite clarifications.
Responding to a query about the reported allegations by KPCC chief K Sudhakaran regarding Vijayan and his family's foreign visit being an extravaganza, Balan said the Chief Minister himself has clarified that it was a private trip.
Balan stated that the Chief Minister has a monthly income of Rs 92,000.
Sudhakaran had criticised the CM over the trip and sought to know why he was taking his family members along.
"I suspect that it is a sponsored trip. Even if it is a sponsored trip, why is Vijayan keeping everything a secret? Why is he evading responsibility," Sudhakaran had asked.
CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan on Wednesday said Vijayan embarked on his overseas trip at his own expense after getting requisite permissions from the party and the Central government.
Vijayan actually took a break after the intense Lok Sabha poll campaigning in Kerala and decided to travel abroad with his family, he had said.
The CM and his close family members left for various foreign destinations on May 6.
