Congress criticizes Kerala CM for attending official function during Manmohan Singh's funeral

Kochi: The Congress in Kerala on Saturday criticized Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for attending an official inauguration ceremony at the international airport here as the country mourned the death of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Speaking to reporters here, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly VD Satheesan termed the Prime Minister’s action as “disrespectful” and “inappropriate”.

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The LoP said it was disrespectful and inappropriate for someone like the CM to attend and inaugurate an official event at Kochi airport when the funeral of Manmohan Singh, who served as the Prime Minister of India for a decade, was being held in New Delhi.

He added that the Chief Minister of Kerala should not attend such an event and a request has been made to the airport management to postpone the event and inform the Chief Minister about it a day before.

Satheesan expressed his “sorrow and protest” over the “disrespect” shown by the CM.

Earlier in the day, Vijayan inaugurated the Taj Cochin International Airport, a five-star hotel developed by Cochin International Airport Limited (CIAL) and operated by IHCL Taj Group.

In New Delhi, former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was cremated with full state honors on Saturday in the presence of senior officials from India and abroad.

The final ceremonies were attended by senior Congress leaders like Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, along with President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.