The legendary hockey star of India PR Sreejesh (member of the Indian hockey team that won the bronze medal in Paris Olympics) and his family were humiliated by the Government of Kerala which has shocked the sporting fraternity in the State.

The CPI (M)-led Kerala Government had invited Sreejesh to Thiruvananthapuram to felicitate him in a State function for his feat in the hockey field. The hockey star reached Thiruvananthapuram accompanied by his family members. But what happened unknown to Sreejesh was the last-hour cancellation of the felicitation programme.

It seems Sreejesh's act of speaking to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and attending the reception hosted by the latter had not gone down well with the Marxists and Muslim members in the Council of Ministers that may have led to the ungainly treatment meted out to the hockey icon.

The reason why the reception was cancelled, according to sources in the State Secretariat, was the differences between Education Minister V Sivankutty and Sports Minister V Abdul Rehman over who should foot the bill.

While Sivankutty is a CPI (M) ideologue, Abdul Rehman is an erstwhile Congress leader who switched sides and joined the CPI (M) hours before the announcement of the 2021 election schedule. A business baron, Rehman wields enormous influence in the CPI (M).

The sources would have us believe that both the ministers wanted to teach Sreejesh an unforgettable lesson, and hence the last-minute cancellation of the programme. It was only on Tuesday morning that an unwary Sreejesh was informed that the felicitation stood cancelled and that he would be "summoned" to the capital city later on. Left in the lurch, Sreejesh and family decided to turn an unpleasant incident into a spiritually uplifting experience. They visited for "darshan" Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple and Lord Ganapathy Temple at Pazhavangadi where the hockey wizard came across Union Minister Suresh Gopi. Gopi was taken aback to hear about the sudden cancellation of the felicitation, and took Sreejesh and family to the former's residence and treated them to a sumptuous Onam lunch.

Sreejesh's wife, children, father and mother had a nice time with the actor-turned-politician and took selfies before boarding the train to return home on Tuesday. Since he happens to be an employee of the Kerala Government, Sreejesh is not in a position to make his feelings public.