Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday, asked the media persons to leave the venue of a peace meeting convened by him with top leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
Amid the death of RSS activist Rajesh, the capital city has been on high alert since Saturday night. The meet was held to discuss the steps to be taken in order to bring back the peace in the state. “We wanted the meeting to be peaceful and without the interference of any media,” a party leader told PTI.
As the CM reached the meeting venue, apparently on seeing a large contingent of electronic media persons occupying the room, he lost his composure and asked them to leave. Angry Vijayan shouted at the journalists and asked them to “Get out!” of the venue. He also shouted at the Hotel manager saying, "Who let them in? I will not start the meeting unless they are leaving this hall.”
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After the meeting, Vijayan, while giving details about it, declined to reply to a question as to why the media was not allowed inside the meeting hall.
Later in a clarification, the CM's office said the media was not invited for the meeting, not even for the photo-op ahead of the meeting, it said.
"When the chief minister and other leaders came to the venue, the entire media was inside the hall. That is why, the CM asked them to leave the hall," the statement said.
It was not possible to hold such a discussion in the presence of the media, it added.
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CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said probably the chief minister got angry as the media took visuals without permission.
