The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Karunakaran denied entry to venue

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 02, 2006
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Karunakaran denied entry to venue

Special Correspondent

K.Karunakaran

Thiruvananthapuram: Veteran leader K Karunakaran was on Wednesday denied entry to the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium where the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh inaugurated the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the formation of Kerala state.

Mr. Karunakaran later returned home after attempts to gain entry to the venue failed. There was hardly any police official willing to ensure the smooth passage of a leader who had contributed a lot to the development of the State in his capacity as Chief Minister. Mr. Karunakaran's car was first blocked near the Raj Bhavan and later at the Corporation Office. He had to gain access to the venue via the PMG junction. After arriving at the venue, he was directed to the VIP entrance, which the officials manning it, declared as closed.

The Government officials in charge of invitations did not ensure proper delivery of the invitation card.

According to Mr. Karunakaran's staff members, it was delivered at the Democratic Indira Congress (Karunakaran) party office.

Earlier in the day, DIC(K) leader N. Peethambara Kurup had protested against the sleight. He said the august occasion had lost its grace owing to the grossly partisan approach that kept out a senior leader who had contributed a lot the State's development.

Mr. Karunakaran was the only living leader who belonged to the era of Kerala unification, Mr. Kurup said.

When contacted, Mr. Karunakaran said he had nothing to say about the incident other than express distress at the way the cultural ethos of Kerala was changing.

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