Kochi: Public Works Department (PWD) Minister P A Mohammed Riyas has been excluded from the inauguration ceremony of various National Highway development projects attended by the Prime Minister. The Minister was left out of the official proceedings for the events scheduled to take place in Kochi on Wednesday.

Minister Riyas’s name is notably absent from the official list of attendees. While Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Ministers M B Rajesh and K Krishnankutty received invitations, reports indicate that the Chief Minister will not be attending the event.

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The invitation list includes Union Ministers Suresh Gopi and George Kurian, MPs Benny Behanan and Hibi Eden and MLA Uma Thomas. BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar is also participating in the programme.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will dedicate the Thalapady-Chengala reach to the nation—the first of 23 stretches to be completed as part of the six-laning of NH-66 in the state. This is among the various development projects being inaugurated by the PM in Kochi, which also include the Vengalam-Ramanattukara reach of the National Highway. The Thalapady-Chengala stretch spans 39 kilometres.

The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the six-lane Thalapady-Chengala section (NH-66), constructed at a cost of ₹2,650 crore as part of the Mumbai-Kanyakumari Economic Corridor, the Kozhikode Bypass, upgraded to six lanes from Vengalam to Ramanattukara at a cost of ₹2,140 crore, and 23 rural roads constructed under the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).

‘Protocol violation, an insult to Kerala’

Meanwhile, Minister Mohammed Riyas has stated that his exclusion from the inauguration is "equivalent to insulting the state of Kerala". He alleged that removing the Department Minister from the official ceremony of a vital state project and replacing the Minister with the BJP state president is "undemocratic" and a “protocol violation”.

He pointed out that in 2014, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) had officially recorded that the project was being abandoned and had even closed its offices. It was only after the LDF government assumed power in 2016 that the project was revived through the direct intervention of the Chief Minister. He further highlighted that Kerala is the first state in the history of India to contribute a massive share of ₹5,600 crore towards National Highway development.

Riyas claimed that Union Minister Nitin Gadkari and NHAI officials have, on multiple occasions, commended the precise coordination led by the Chief Minister and the PWD since the project's inception. He argued that sidelining the Department Minister in favour of a BJP party leader in an official function for such a major collaborative project is "improper".

"If a leader of one political party is being included, should the chairpersons of other political parties not also be invited?" he asked. He added that even if attempts are made to erase the LDF government's role in the project, the people of Kerala will recognise the facts.