Alappuzha: In a shocking incident that eventually led to a major controversy, the Bank of India Staff Union in Kerala decided to pay tributes to former Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf, the architect of the Kargil invasion, just days after the 25th anniversary of the Kargil war.
As part of the program, several dignitaries were named in the felicitation list. The organization had released the names of the persons who were being honored at the event, which included actors, singers, dancers, sportspersons, activists, and others. However, the name of Pervez Musharaf, the name of the former Pakistan president who had led the Pakistan army has shocked many.
However, the Bank of India staff union asserted that the inclusion of Musharraf’s name was a printing error. Upon realising the mistake, they promptly corrected it and proceeded with the program without any mention of the former Pakistani leader.
“We usually honour all the people who have passed away in the past three years. But in this case, it was a pure printing error. For printing purpose, we gave the entire copies to a press house in Ernakulam. The person there had copied all the names from a website who had died in the last two years. Incidentally, the name of Musharaf also was included in it. We realized the mistake and later when the conference was about to start, we had informed everyone that it was a mistake and we omitted the name from the list”, said Pramod, General secretary, AIBEA to News9.
However, one of the copies of the list that was prepared initially was shared by an employee among us to the public that led to the entire controversy, he added.
BJP protest at the venue
The BJP held a major protest outside the venue alleging that the Left supported union is trying to ‘appease’ the fundamentalist groups in Alappuzha.
“This shows the mentality of the CPM affiliated unions in Kerala who are trying to appease radical groups for vote bank politics”, said Shivshankar, BJP leader from Ernakulam.
According to the program notice, All India Congress Committee (AICC) General Secretary KC Venugopal, who is the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from the Alappuzha Lok Sabha constituency was scheduled to inaugurate the state conference. However, he did not attend the event.
As part of the program, several dignitaries were named in the felicitation list. The organization had released the names of the persons who were being honored at the event, which included actors, singers, dancers, sportspersons, activists, and others. However, the name of Pervez Musharaf, the name of the former Pakistan president who had led the Pakistan army has shocked many. Kerala States News India: Top News India, States News, States News Headlines, Online State News India, State Politics news
