Guntur: Tamil Nadu governor K Rosaiah suddenly cancelled his visit to Chilakaluripet in Guntur district where he was scheduled to unveil the statue of Mahatma Gandhi yesterday after BJP leader called the invitation which showed Prim Minister Narendra Modi under Gandhi's feet, ‘breach of protocol'.
Six months back, a local businessman had invited Rosaiah to unveil the statue of the Father of the Nation. Rosaiah accepted the invitation. The merchant went to the extent of printing invitation cards with a full size photograph of Rosaiah along with mug shots of Gandhi and senior BJP leaders, including Modi and party president Amit Shah below his feet, while images of local TDP leaders were given prominence.
This invitation irked the BJP leaders who called it “breach of protocol”.
Rosaiah reportedly stalled after local BJP leader P Purnachandra Rao strongly objected to the “insult” meted out to senior party leaders by the organizers.
“Since it is a private programme, the question of following protocol in the invitation cards does not arise,” said a senior district official. He, however, said the VVIP is free to accept or reject the invitation. An official statement from the state information department later in the day said the TN governor had cancelled his programme as the “organiser printed the photos of national leaders in a derogatory manner”.
K Rosaiah is the only governor nominated by the UPA government who has not yet faced the BJP-led NDA government's wrath so far.
