Another Congress leader with statement in support of CPM; former Union Minister's praise of Pinarayi government put Congress on defensive

KANNUR: Congress leader and former Union Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar attended a seminar organized by the CPM and praised Kerala. Mani Shankar Aiyar attended the event that Congress and League leaders abstained from. He said that Kerala is a model in the management of local self-government institutions and that he has a close relationship with former Finance Minister Thomas Isaac.

Another party national leader has shared the CPM stage after Congress leaders has came out against Shashi Tharoor's stand on praising the state's industries department. Mani Shankar Aiyar was attending an international seminar on decentralization and local governance jointly organized by the AKG Study and Research Center and the Pattiam Gopalan Study and Research Center in Kannur.

Despite being invited, KPCC and DCC leaders did not attend the seminar. Congress leader KC Joseph, Muslim League leaders MK Muneer and CT Ahmadali, among others, abstained from the seminar. The Congress leadership had also come out against the compulsory collection of Rs. 500,000 each from local bodies for the seminar. Meanwhile, CPM District Secretary M.V. Jayarajan, one of the main organizers, said that one in four of the participants in the seminar was from UDF-ruled panchayats in the district.