Embarrassment for woman presenter at govt programme as Kerala CM Vijayan chides her

A woman presenter at a state government programme inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan faced an embarrassing situation here on Wednesday when he publicly chided her after she thanked him for his speech.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, known for his blunt remarks, was at it again on Wednesday. A woman presenter, at a state government programme inaugurated by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, faced an embarrassing situation when he publicly chided her after she thanked him for his speech.

The incident occurred at the INSAF programme, a face-to-face event organised by the state government's Minorities Department. After Vijayan delivered the inaugural address, the presenter said, "Thank you sir for such a good inaugural speech." Vijayan swiftly reacted that there was no need for such remarks.

"There is no need for such comments. If you are going to call the next speaker, just do that," Vijayan retorted.

The reason for the CM's displeasure is not known. However, in his speech, Vijayan had responded strongly to the allegation of an Islamic leader, saying that the state police were targeting one community in a recent incident, which Vijayan termed as "hooliganism."

Earlier, Kerala Nadvathul Mujahideen vice-president Hussein Madavoor expressed concerns that only youths from a particular community were being held in connection with the recent attack on a priest at a church ground in Erattupetta, Kottayam.

Vijayan stated that it was an act of hooliganism and the priest had a narrow escape. All accused happened to be from a particular community, and hence they were held.

The presenter then invited the next speaker, state Revenue Minister K Rajan to the podium to deliver the vote of thanks.

With PTI inputs