Squinty-eyed and sun-burnt, a dozen odd journalists stood outside the Pathanamthitta Juma Masjid on the day of Eid, March 20. Word was out that the town’s legislator and Kerala Health Minister, Veena George, was inside.
With the tail-end of her sari wrapped around her, Veena stopped every step of the way to exchange a few words with the believers and made hasty responses to journalists walking alongside and shooting questions about the upcoming election.
She later sat down for an interview and told us that she no longer identified with the current state of journalism. Veena, who was once hailed for becoming the first woman executive editor of a Malayalam news channel, said she never wants to go back to journalism.
The world as Veena knew changed colours when she switched to politics in 2016. At the time, she had just been offered a higher position at a different channel, but having decided to step into politics she had to decline the offer. The same channel, she said, began attacking her from the day she stepped into politics. A large part of the media became so hostile to her in a matter of days that Veena said she felt alienated and targeted. The attacks sharpened as she assumed charge as Health Minister in 2021.
The last five years were – to sum it up in one word – eventful, for Veena. A series of incidents, ending with Kerala Students Union (KSU) activists physically confronting her at the Kannur railway station in February, made it a tumultuous political journey. From a corruption allegation about her office staffer taking bribes (which was dismissed in court) to the row over the murder of a young doctor on duty, along with accusations of medical negligence, lack of medical equipment, and a death caused by a hospital building collapse, Veena has remained in the limelight.
Veena has time and again pointed out that the opposition, with the support of certain media, found the Health Department an easy target. She said that the achievements of the department, including the building of superspecialty hospitals, the availability of cath labs, and the record reduction of infant mortality rate to 5, were mostly ignored by the same media outlets.
A journalist for over 16 years, Veena walked into politics in the summer of 2016 when the state elections were on. She won the Aranmula seat twice for the Communist Party of India (Marxist), and in the last five years, served as the Minister for Health, Women and Child Development in the Left Democratic Front government of Kerala.
Entry into politics amid intense media scrutiny
Veena, who had in her television days worn elegant saris and matching jewellery and left her hair loose, adopted the faded clothes of a politician. A woman entering politics, she said, had to go the extra mile to prove that she was serious about her job. It was not enough that she was going on the ground and interacting with people, speaking in the Assembly for them, trying to ensure legislation that would make their lives better. She also had to look the part. The funky neckpieces were gone, the hair was tightly tied up, and a pair of spectacles became a permanent fixture.
Still, one of the first offensive remarks against her was about her appearance. In 2018, a man who had complaints about the state of the Pattanamthitta bus stand said that Veena only had time for her beauty parlour trips and church visits. Her gender and religion were both ridiculed.
But she didn’t have second thoughts about joining politics, Veena told TNM when we met her at the constituency on Eid day. The idea had come up in 2014 during the parliamentary elections, and two years later, she was ready.
