BJP directs District Presidents to be present to welcome National leaders, bjp, state leadership, national leaders, reception, anil antony, kerala latest news

19 September 2023, 08:28 AM IST

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Kollam: BJP state leadership has issued instructions directing district presidents to be present to receive national leaders when they arrive in Kerala. The proposal came in the context of the controversy that none of the state leaders arrived at the Kochi airport to receive the party’s National Secretary Anil Antony.

National Secretary K. Subhash gave the instructions at the state leadership meeting held in Thrissur the other day. Thiruvananthapuram district President V.V Rajesh raised doubts whether this would be practical amidst all the ‘workload’ but Subhash said leaders must strictly adhere to this.

Earlier, there was contention in the party over some leaders rushing to receive Union Ministers and national leaders when they arrived in the state. An issue arose when a Union Minister was taken away in a car by a few leaders. Following this incident, a ‘Protocol Officer’ was deployed in Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Kozhikode and Kannur districts having airport facility to manage this.

Meanwhile, a section of the party was unhappy with the appointment of Anil Antony and P.A Abdulakutty as national office bearers and the disregard of senior leaders from Kerala. In the light of this, absence of the state leaders who were present in Kochi at the airport raised eyebrows.

Anil Antony and Abdullakutty were on the stage from the beginning till the end of the leadership meeting held in Thrissur. Former state President CK Padmanabhan did not attend the meeting. After the inauguration, Union Minister V Muraleedharan left the stage and sat at the back row of the audience seats. Senior leaders P.K Krishna Das and A.N Radhakrishnan also left the meeting.