Thiruvananthapuram, May 18 : Amid the controversy surrounding his private three-nation trip, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his family returned to Kerala in the wee hours of Saturday, cutting the tour short.

The furore over the trip began as there was no official intimation about his visit that commenced on May 6.

Even Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan waded into the controversy by stating that he wished to thank the media for informing him that CM Vijayan was on an overseas tour.

Just like his visit was kept a top secret, his return to the country was also kept under wraps.

Though there was initial news that he would arrive at Kochi airport, he landed at the Thiruvananthapuram airport and as always, walked away without giving the waiting media any chance to speak to him.

In a major departure from protocol, there were no officials present to receive him at the airport and only his personal security guards were there.

While on tour, he presided over a Cabinet meeting via a video conference from Dubai and informed his colleagues that he would return on May 20.

The Congress and the BJP had slammed CM Vijayan for his 'secretive' trip and the worst swipe came from Leader of Opposition, VD Satheesan, who said CM Vijayan was scared of PM Modi because despite the CPI(M) being a part of the INDIA bloc, he left and did not participate in election campaigning.

Satheesan added that this was despite the fact that he was the only CPI(M) chief minister in the country.

CM Vijayan was accompanied by his wife, grandson, daughter Veena and her husband, State Tourism Minister PA Mohammed Riyas, on the trip and they visited Indonesia, Singapore and UAE.

/IANS