Kerala CM's scientific advisor's 'go and beg' remark at journalists triggers row

Thiruvananthapuram: Senior space scientist and scientific advisor to Kerala Chief Mi nister Pinarayi Vijayan, M C Dathan triggered a row on Wednesday by yelling at journalists covering an opposition protest and asking them to "go and beg."

The incident happened in front of the state secretariat here during a siege laid by the opposition Congress-led UDF against the LDF government, protesting against various issues including alleged corruption and price rise.

Without recognising him as the scientific advisor to the CM, police personnel stopped him at one of the secretariat gates and didn't let him go inside.

Following this, Dathan, who is the former director of Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre and a Padma Shri awardee, had to wait before the police barricade for some time.

Later, journalists who were present there to cover the protest siege informed the police about his identity, following which he was allowed to go to the Secretariat building.

Though it was police personnel who stopped him from entering the Secretariat premises, his anger was towards the media persons who came to his help. When journalists asked him whether he had faced any difficulty, a visibly annoyed Dathan shouted at them and said, "Don't you have any other job? If not, go and beg..." The Kerala Union of Working Journalists and the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club condemned the incident and sought an apology from the scientist.

The Congress-led UDF on Wednesday laid siege to the Kerala Secretariat here, accusing the Left government of corruption, administrative mismanagement and financial extravagance. Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan alleged that "looters were ruling the state". (PTI)