Kerala minister denies reports of not inviting governor to Onam celebrations

Thiruvananthapuram, Aug 31 (PTI) Kerala General Education Minister V Sivankutty on Sunday rejected media reports that Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar was not invited to the official Onam celebrations of the state government.

While addressing reporters here, he said it has been a customary practice to invite the Governor to flag off the procession on the concluding day of the state government's week-long Onam celebrations.

As part of this, Tourism Director Shikha Surendran already sent a letter to the secretary of the Governor seeking an appointment for a government delegation to visit him and officially invite him to the event, the minister said.

The delegation to invite Arlekar comprises ministers, MLAs and tourism officials, he said.

"Accordingly, the Governor's Office has given a reply via a WhatsApp message, granting permission for the meeting to be held at 4.00 pm on September 2," Sivankutty said.

The minister sought to know on what basis the media had reported that the Governor was not invited to the event.

The General Education Minister's response came a day after a section of the media reported that Governor Arlekar was not invited to the government's Onam celebrations in the wake of the tussle between the government and the governor on various matters, including the appointment of vice chancellors in various universities.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan would inaugurate the state-level Onam celebrations at the Nishagandhi open auditorium here on September 3.

With this, the official Onam celebrations of the state government would commence and continue till September 9.

The week-long celebrations would be marked by dance and musical events and various cultural programmes, authorities said, adding that a cultural procession would mark the culmination of the celebrations here on September 9. The auspicious Thiruvonam falls on September 5 this year. PTI LGK ADB