THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Senior Congress leader Mani Shankar Iyer has said that he did not participate in the Keraleeyam event to praise Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. He said that the Congress leaders in Kerala did not inform about the ban on participation in the event.

'There is no politics in the platform where panchayat raj is talked about. I came as a sign of respect to former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who laid the foundation of the Panchayat Raj system, and not to Pinarayi Vijayan. It was learned that the state Congress leadership was boycotting the event just before my departure. It is assumed that the party will not expel or exile me for participating', Mani Shankar Iyer said. He also praised the Panchayat Raj activities in the state.

The Congress had asked the party leaders and workers to boycott the Keralayam program organized by the Left government at a time when the state is in a severe financial crisis.

At the same time, Opposition leader VD Satheesan had responded that Mani Shankar Iyer had defied the party by participating in the 'Keraleeyam' program and had lodged a complaint with the AICC.