Defying Cong to attend Panchayati Raj meet in Kerala only to pay tribute to Rajiv Gandhi: Mani Shankar Iyer

Thiruvananthapuram, Nov 4 (IANS) Former Union Minister and Congress veteran Mani Shankar Iyer on Saturday stated that despite party's opposition, he is attending the meeting on Local Self Government -- a part of 'Keralayeem' organised by the Kerala government-- as Panchayati Raj was a dream of ex-prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

The former Panchyati Raj minister asserted that he was attending the event as a tribute to the late Congress leader and not because of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's invitation.

His Kerala visit assumes significance as Congress, the principal opposition party in the state, is boycotting the seven-day celebrations commemorating the formation of Kerala 67 years ago.

He further said he is attending the meeting despite stiff opposition by his party leaders and that he will apologise for it. "Now I will seek an apology from the party for this. It was Rajiv Gandhi who started this and I came for that," he added.

Notably, the Congress-led UDF is boycotting the event terming it "extravagant" and smacking the arrogance of Vijayan.

Iyer further pointed out though the state has done well in local governance, Karnataka has gone ahead in this area.

Kerala should take a cue from Karnataka in the matter, he said, adding that a delegation from Karnataka has come for this event.