The decision of the Congress to withdraw the invitation extended to Governor Arif Mohammad Khan to inaugurate the K. Karunakaran commemoration on account of his stand on the Citizenship (Amendment) Act amounted to “arrogance and fascism”, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Mizoram Governor Kummanam Rajasekharan said here on Tuesday.
“They should have shown the decency of giving him an opportunity to speak. We are a pluralist nation. You can agree or disagree. Why are you afraid?” Mr. Rajasekharan asked the Congress, inaugurating a seminar ‘CAA: What is the Truth?’ organised by the BJP.
Mr. Khan was to have inaugurated the function commemorating the former Chief Minister on Monday evening. The invitation was abruptly withdrawn and Leader of the Opposition Ramesh Chennithala had written to the Raj Bhavan about the decision of the organisers.
In withdrawing the invitation, the Congress leadership and Mr. Chennithala had, in effect, insulted the office of the Governor, Mr. Rajasekharan said.
Introspection
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Mr. Chennithala, who had joined hands in opposing CAA, should introspect whether they should become tools of a foreign conspiracy to foment unrest in the country, he said.
