Kerala CM’s foreign tour with family sparks a storm back home: ‘Why go now, who is funding it?’

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s trip abroad with his family has led to a political storm in Kerala, with both the Congress and the BJP raising questions about its timing and the costs involved.

Along with wife Kamala and grandson Ishan, Vijayan left Monday for a trip that will cover the UAE, Indonesia, and Singapore. This comes 10 days after Kerala voted in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 26. However, with the seven-phase elections heating up in other parts of the country, the prominent CPI(M) leader’s absence has raised eyebrows. At the national level, the CPI(M) is part of the Opposition INDIA bloc, which includes the Congress.

Vijayan’s trip comes days after his son-in-law, Kerala Public Works minister P A Muhammed Riyas, also left for a family vacation abroad. The Chief Minister is likely to return to Kerala in the third week of May.

“Why is he (Vijayan) running away from the state like this? Who is financing the foreign tour? Is it government money or sponsorship?” asked Congress state presidentK Sudhakaran.

BJP state president K Surendran said the people have a right to know who is financing the CM’s tour. “Can CPI(M) general secretary Sitaram Yechuri or party state secretary M V Govindan say where Vijyan has gone?” he asked.

Union minister V Muraleedharan of the BJP also commented on the issue, saying the trip exposed the CPI(M)’s hypocrisy. “Like Nero, who played the fiddle while Rome burned, the Kerala CM is currently in Dubai while the sweltering heat continues to torment the people of Kerala. This clearly reflects Pinarayi Vijayan’s apathy and exposes CPI(M) hypocrisy of being the messiah of commoners,” he said in a post on X.

Officials from the Chief Minister’s Office said there would be no