A day after dismissing the casteist remark made by Congress Member of Parliament (MP) K Sudhakaran against Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala has backed him on Friday.
“Yesterday, I made a general statement as a reply to a mediaperson’s query. I never rejected Sudhakaran. He is an asset to the Congress party. He was criticising CM's extravagance. He told me he did not make any other criticism. I am satisfied with his explanation. Sudharakan has been in politics for so long, he has never insulted anyone personally,” Ramesh Chennithala told reporters on Friday.
Chennithala has been on his Aishwarya Yathra, the Congress-led United Democratic Front’s 22-day state-wide rally, since January 31.
Sudhakaran made his controversial remarks at the venue of the rally in Thalassery of Kannur district. “Pinarayi Vijayan, who held the revolutionary flame of the working class from a family of toddy-tappers and led you from the front holding the red flag, where is he now? Pinarayi Vijayan, who hails from the family of toddy-tappers, travels by helicopter after he became the Chief Minister of Kerala and will be remembered as the first Chief Minister from the working class to use a helicopter," Sudhakaran had said.
Toddy-tapping used to be the traditional occupation of the oppressed Ezhava or Thiyya caste to which CM Pinarayi belongs.
When asked about the remark, Chennithala, on Thursday, had said that one must never insult anyone personally. “I never do that. When I asked Sudhakaran, he told me he meant that someone who came from humble background is now leading a luxurious lifestyle. One must try to avoid saying such things.”
The Congress's disciplinary committee on Thursday decided to look into the matter but MP Sudhakaran remained defiant and justified it.
The Kannur MP, who reached Delhi for party meetings on Thursday, refused to withdraw his statement and said he stood by what he had said and there was nothing wrong in it. He also lashed out at Alappuzha Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Congress leader Shanimol Usman for asking him to apologise for his remarks and asked why a Congress leader was upset.
"I stand by what I said. I made that statement after evaluating the right and wrong in that remark. There is no need to change that. Then why is Shanimol Usman upset by the issue? Even the CPI(M) has not reacted to the issue. Why is the Congress leader upset about it? I have complained to the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) leadership about Usman's reaction," Sudhakaran told reporters.
"I mentioned the family background and the profession of the family. I merely mentioned the lavish spending and use of helicopters by a person from such a humble background. There is nothing wrong in it," Sudhakaran said.
Senior Congress leader Tariq Anwar, who reacted to the incident, said "The disciplinary committee will look into it and will see that in future nobody will go beyond the party discipline."
CPI(M) party secretary in-charge A Vijayaraghavan asked the Congress party to come clear on the remarks. "In a modern society, we don't use these kinds of words. Sudhakaran used an abusive tone in his speech against the Chief Minister. Congress should make its stand clear. Sudhakaran is unaware of the renaissance journey of Kerala. So the Kerala leaders should make their stand clear," Vijayaraghavan said.
Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), the youth organisation of the ruling CPI(M), also lashed out at MP Sudhakaran and said no one uses such "casteist and derogatory" remarks against anyone. The DYFI said the Congress party was being led by the "Sangh Parivar ideology."
"Does Congress have a stand that the son of a toddy-tapper should not become the Chief Minister? Every job has its dignity," the DYFI said.
The Chief Minister had to face similar remarks when the Left government decided to implement the September 28, 2018 Supreme Court verdict, allowing entry of women of all age groups into the Sabarimala temple.
Earlier in 2019, BJP state vice-president M Sivarajan had said it would have been better if Pinarayi Vijayan "had gone back to toddy-tapping" instead of becoming the CM.
During the initial protests against the state's decision to implement the top court order, a woman in her 50s allegedly used a derogatory term to denote Pinarayi Vijayan's caste, a video of which went viral. She later shot a video apologising to the Chief Minister.
Prior to that, Janmabhoomi, a BJP mouthpiece, had also carried a cartoon, referring to his caste of traditional toddy tappers and implying he was unfit for the job.
However, CM Pinarayi had brushed aside these remarks, saying the saffron party always reminded him of his caste and expected him to follow his family's footsteps, but that times had changed, a new era had come about and they would have to understand it.
(With PTI input)