Follow TNM's WhatsApp channel for news updates and story links.
When Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy borrowed Mohanlal's famous "Nee po mone" to tell Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan that his time was up, he perhaps did not anticipate that the 82-year-old would have a less-than-polite retort ready. "Dash mone Revanth, wait for the reply," Pinarayi shot back at a press meet in Kannur on April 7, deploying a distinctly Malayali rhetorical device where "dash" does the heavy lifting of an expletive that decorum prevents one from actually uttering. What began as a filmy flourish at a Congress rally in Thiruvananthapuram on April 1 had, within a week, escalated into a full-blown cross-state governance argument, with both chief ministers insisting the other had much to learn using a language that no one in their states would approve of.
It was at a campaign rally for Congress candidate KS Sabarinadhan in the capital’s Nemom constituency that Revanth Reddy made the remark that kicked off a political back and forth in an already heated election season.
As TNM earlier reported, CM Revanth had challenged critics of the Five Guarantees announced by the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) stating that those doubting their implementation should visit Telangana. “I would personally demonstrate to Pinarayi and his ministers how the guarantees are being implemented if a Kerala delegation visits Telangana,” Revanth said, declaring that the “dark era” of Pinarayi was ending and a “golden era” under the UDF was set to begin.
Pinarayi responded sharply, accusing the Telangana CM of attempting to undermine Kerala’s governance model. He cited Kerala’s performance on social indicators, including topping the NITI Aayog SDG Index (2023–24), low poverty levels, high literacy rates, and strong public health outcomes. “Instead of spending crores on political ads in Kerala to indirectly help the Congress, shouldn't he focus on eradicating poverty and improving literacy back home?” he had asked.
On April 7, the “Po mone Vijayan” line was again brought up when he was speaking to the press in Kannur. After prefacing his answer with a few words about the propriety and decorum expected of a chief minister, Pinarayi went on to say that he would respond to Revanth Reddy’s public remark publicly, only to then add the controversial “Dash mone Revanth” line.
Addressing an open letter Revanth Reddy wrote to him, the Kerala Chief Minister also penned a statement outlining Kerala’s wins and critiquing the Telangana government. Revanth Reddy had said when citing Kerala’s top rank in the NITI Aayog's SDG Index 2023-24, the Pinarayi government is “selectively appropriating” and claiming “credit for Kerala's social indicators built over decades including by Congress CM Karunakaran's Infrastructure focus and CM Oommen Chandy's welfare-development balance.”
In his response, Pinarayi wrote, “Your statement that selective appropriation is not governance has to be directed elsewhere and not at the LDF Government.” He went on to add, “The first Communist Ministry, which came to power in Keralam brought in the Agrarian Relations Bill, which would have ended landlordism in the first decade after independence in Keralam, had that ministry not been undemocratically dismissed by the abusive use of Article 356 by your party, the Congress. The decentralised governance structure was conceived by the first Ministry in. Keralam decades-before the 73rd and 74th constitutional amendments were enacted in 1993. The literacy movement, in Keralam of the 1980s, was spearheaded by the LDF government of 1987–91. In 1996, the LDF government launched the People's Planning Campaign, revolutionising democratic decentralisation by transferring more than one third of the State five year plan to local governments. The LDF governments, which came to power in 2016 and 2021 continued this legacy through the Nava Kerala Missions.”
Pinarayi also addressed Revanth Reddy’s accusation that the CPI(M)-led LDF is not criticising the BJP enough. “The Government of Keralam has, by invoking its right under Articles 131 and 32, been fighting legal battles in the apex court against various actions of the BJP-led government encroaching on the rights of the states in the legislative, fiscal domains, steps taken by the Union government which have caused apprehensions and anxieties among various sections of the society, especially the minorities.”
He signed off with a direct reply to the “Po mone” (literally, “go, son") comment by saying, “We will go, but only forward. We will move forward by creating a Nava Keralam that will serve as a model for all.”
The Telangana CM was quick to clap back with what he captioned his “final response” to Pinarayi. “I will not respond with a rash comment to a dash comment. I also promise, when you visit my state, I will show you every respect a host must give a guest,” he wrote.
Besides countering some of the statements made by Pinarayi, Revanth Reddy also chose to bring up a topic that has seen much discussion this election season — the Sabarimala gold theft case. Through the letter, he asked Pinarayi, “I respect NITI Aayog's corruption rankings. But if Kerala is demonstrably clean, why does the Kerala gold smuggling case with documented links to individuals connected to your Chief Minister’s office remain unresolved? Why has 4.5 kg of gold allegedly misappropriated from the Sabarimala Ayyappa temple not been accounted for?”
While signing off his first letter, Revanth had attempted to make light of the “Po mone Vijayan” comment by saying it was used with “affection and conviction” and “with love”. But this time around, Pinarayi’s beeped expletive seems to have dashed his spirits, as Revanth ended the letter curtly, stating that the “people of Kerala will decide soon.”