Thiruvananthapuram: Former Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran on Thursday complained of humiliation after being denied a chance to share the dais with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the golden jubilee celebrations of the formation of the state.
"You should know that there are just three living former chief ministers of Kerala," a bitter Karunakaran said. "AK Antony by virtue of being the defense minister and Oommen Chandy as leader of opposition were seated alongside the Prime Minister. I came to the venue but was stopped thrice and denied entry as my name was not there in the list."
Asked if anyone from the Government had expressed apologies, he shot back: "This is a useless Government and they are not courteous enough to at least invite me."
This is the third time Karunakaran has been kept away from the dais when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh was in the state.
Two times this happened when Oommen Chandy was the chief minister and the third incident one took place on Wednesday with VS Achuthanandan at the helm of affairs.
He went on: "What many have forgotten is that I am just the few still alive when the state of Kerala was formed and who had taken part in the discussions with Sardar Patel when the states were reorganised."
Now 88-years-old, Karunakaran began his political career as a member of Kochi Assembly in 1948. When Kerala was formed November 1, 1956, he was a member of the Travancore-Kochi legislature.
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