Controversy erupts over exclusion of Kochi Mayor from President Murmu’s event

Kochi: A controversy erupted in Kochi on Friday over the alleged last-minute exclusion of Mayor M Anilkumar from a function attended by President Droupadi Murmu at St. Teresa’s College, sparking strong reactions from the Left Democratic Front and Communist Party of India (Marxist). 

President Murmu was the chief guest at the centenary celebrations of the college. Mayor Anilkumar, who had initially been invited, was reportedly informed shortly before the event that his presence was not required. The mayor described the move as an insult to the city and questioned the repeated sidelining of elected local representatives during high-profile visits. 

“This is not about an individual. It is about the approach they take towards the city,” Anilkumar said. 

The LDF parliamentary party condemned the incident, terming it a violation of democratic principles. A statement issued by them alleged that such actions were politically motivated, stemming from discomfort over the mayor’s popularity and the LDF-led city council’s governance record. The party said that Anilkumar had faced similar treatment in the past. 

It is customary for the city’s mayor to be present to receive the President or the Prime Minister during official visits. Anilkumar was also not part of the reception at the naval base also when the President arrived in the city on Friday morning. 

The LDF accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of repeatedly undermining constitutional and federal norms. 

“The resistance against communal and fascist forces will continue, as will programmes based on the LDF’s alternative model. Politically motivated actions, regardless of who initiates them, must end. Citizens of Kochi should protest irrespective of their party affiliations,” the statement said. 

The CPM Ernakulam district committee also issued a separate statement calling the episode a political vendetta. The committee claimed that while the mayor had been invited, his name was later removed “at the behest of the President’s office, according to available information.” 

“This reflects the Centre’s approach to local self-government bodies. Constitutional institutions engaging in political bias is highly dangerous. Excluding the elected head of the city just ahead of local body elections is a conspiracy by the BJP and the office of Union Minister of State Suresh Gopi,” CPM alleged.

Meanwhile, authorities at St. Teresa’s College clarified that they had no role in excluding the mayor from the list of invitees. “Kochi Mayor keeps a very warm relationship with the college, and his daughter is our student. We had personally invited him and included his name in the list of invitees sent to the President’s office. We don’t know how his name was later excluded,” said a college official.