KOTTAYAM: The standoff between V D Satheesan and G Sukumaran Nair appears to be far from over. Even as the NSS general secretary continued his criticism against the chief minister, the latter sought to downplay the alleged differences between them, stating he had already spoken to Nair.
However, the NSS chief stuck to his allegation that he was denied permission to meet Satheesan. He added that he will no longer seek an appointment with the CM and will instead explore other options to address the issue.
During a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, Satheesan said he had already had a cordial conversation with Nair. “He (Nair) contacted my private secretary when I was unavailable owing to budget preparations. I called him back subsequently and spoke with him very cordially. He said he wanted to see me and convey something to me, to which I agreed,” Satheesan said.
However, Nair termed Satheesan’s statement as false. “I sought an appointment with the chief minister through his private secretary for a discussion on a government file related to a legal matter that has been stalled in a department. Though the secretary promised a callback, the CM contacted me only after six days. He neither asked about the issue nor offered time for a meeting,” Nair said.
Nair said he reached out to the private secretary again after two weeks, but to no avail. “The private secretary later told me I could meet the CM when he comes to Ernakulam. However, since it is an official matter, I said the meeting needs to be held at the Secretariat. There has been no further communication,” he said
“Permission was sought to meet the CM, not V D Satheesan. However, there was no consideration, either as a voter or as head of a prominent organisation. There is no point in meeting someone who does not observe the minimum etiquette expected of a CM,” Nair said.
He said NSS had never had such an experience from previous CMs. “Pinarayi Vijayan used to pick up the phone if he was free. If he was busy, he used to send a message and call back later,” Nair said.
