Already taking flak over the abduction and alleged rape of a prominent Malayalam actor in Kochi, and the subsequent probe, the Kerala government is now at the receiving end of another criticism - from Congress spokesperson and actor Khushbu.
Speaking in Kozhikode on Wednesday, the AICC spokesperson came down heavily on the CPI (M)-led LDF government in Kerala.
She hit out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for his statement dismissing possibilities of conspiracy and holding the prime accused Pulsar Suni responsible for plotting the crime.
The CM had later retracted this remark and said that he had only cautioned the media against speculating on the conspiracy angle.
Responding to the CM's statements that were slammed by both Congress and BJP leaders in the state, Khushbu said,
“We have your Chief Minister who says don’t probe into it. Why? Why not probe into it? This man who is a serial offender... there are track records of him. And you say don’t probe? Indirectly you are telling the police to hold back the investigation.”
Accusing the CM of having political interests in making such a statement, Khushbu said,
“You never know, there could be a CPI (M) behind it, there could be people from the same party behind it and you (Pinarayi) know about it, that’s why you are saying slow down the procedure. Why not stand with the people? But here you have a CM who very casually says don’t probe into it.”
Invoking the LDF’s election campaign slogan- “LDF varum, ellam sheriyaavum” (LDF will come, we’ll set things right) - Khushbu said that the government has hardly set anything right.
“Ellam sheriyaavum,” Khushbu said in Malayalam, as the audience cheered her. Switching to Tamil, she added: “Nothing is right.”
Later in an interview to Mathrubhumi News, Khushbu accused the state government of making the state unsafe for women.
“Mahatma Gandhi said that freedom is when a woman is able to walk down the street alone at midnight. That’s freedom. Forget about midnight, in the last three years of BJP government and the last 9 months of the LDF government, women can’t even walk around at noon,” she said.
In the interview, Khushbu also accused the police of supporting politicians instead of working for the protection of the citizens.