Thiruvananthapuram: Union Home Minister Amit Shah arrived here on Friday evening to attend the 30th southern zonal council meeting of the south Indian States and Union Territories to be held in the Kerala state capital on September 3.
Besides Shah, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Chief Ministers and Ministers of other southern states -- Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana -- and Lieutenant Governors of the southern Union Territories of Puducherry, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands would take part in the meeting.
The meeting would hold discussions on matters of interest among the states and also between the states and the central government, according to a release issued by the Chief Minister's office (CMO).
The CMO had also said that a special cultural programme would be held for those attending the council meeting. The programme would be part of the week-long Onam celebrations in Kerala.
The Union Minister and Chief Ministers have been invited to witness the Nehru trophy boat race scheduled in Alappuzha on September 4.
On arrival here, Shah was greeted by a large crowd of BJP members, workers and supporters who were waiting for hours outside the Thiruvananthapuram International Airport holding party flags and braving the rain.
The Union Home Minister for a brief moment waved to his supporters and party workers, who shouted 'Bharat mata ki jai' and 'Jai jai BJP' slogans, from atop an open jeep after coming out of the airport.
Thereafter, he left the airport in another vehicle.
Shah would also be attending a Scheduled Castes meeting organised here by the state BJP on Saturday afternoon.
