Bharat Mata portrait stirs row: Kerala govt cancels Environment Day event at Raj Bhavan

Agriculture Minister P Prasad boycotted the event at Raj Bhavan alleging that RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy had spoken earlier with the Bharat Mata picture.

Thiruvananthapuram: A controversy over a portrait of Bharat Mata led to the abrupt cancellation of an official event on World Environment Day at Raj Bhavan on Wednesday morning. The Kerala government objected to the presence of the portrait on stage, alleging that it resembled imagery used in RSS events. However, Governor Rajendra Arlekar refused to remove it. 

Event shifted to Durbar Hall

Agriculture Minister P Prasad boycotted the event alleging that RSS ideologue S Gurumurthy had spoken at Raj Bhavan with the same picture. The portrait of Bharat Mata was on the stage in the main hall. Officials from the agriculture department had visited the venue on June 4, and the event was scheduled for 9 am on Thursday. The cabinet meeting was postponed to 11 am and the agriculture department informed that the event was canceled. 

According to reports, the agriculture minister had spoken to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. Following this, the event was shifted to the Durbar Hall. The Chief Minister instructed the Chief Secretary to attend the event at the Durbar Hall. Meanwhile, the governor oversaw the planting of saplings at Raj Bhavan.