Government College Declared Holiday to Facilitate Chief Minister’s Helicopter Landing; Events Cancelled

Palakkad: Students at a government college in Chittur, Palakkad, lost a day of classes so that Chief Minister V D Satheesan's helicopter could land on the college ground. The college was declared closed to facilitate the landing, and an event in which the SFI state president was scheduled to participate was also cancelled.

"Denying education to students at a government college. Cancelling an SFI event out of fear. This is what Kerala's current Chief Minister is doing," SFI state secretary P S Sanjeev wrote on Facebook. He also wrote that it is not enough for the Chief Minister to talk about reducing his convoy vehicles, avoiding unnecessary security arrangements and not inconveniencing the public — because what he says and what he does are entirely different things. "A liar in the truest sense," Sanjeev added.

The Chief Minister, who had initially taken to flying by helicopter to check on his father-in-law's health, has now made it a regular mode of travel. After flying in from Delhi on Monday, he planned all his Tuesday engagements by helicopter. Flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Palakkad in the morning, he was scheduled to pay his respects to former Chittur MLA and senior Congress leader K Achuthan, before proceeding from Chittur to Newman College, Thodupuzha, to pay tribute to former Idukki MLA and former Idukki DCC president Jose Kuttiyaniy. He is then to return to Thiruvananthapuram.