Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan.
Credit: PTI Photo
Alappuzha: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday accused the Congress of disseminating false narratives about his government's outreach programme 'Nava Kerala Sadas' and dismissed allegations that he insulted Kerala Congress (M) MP Thomas Chazhikadan during a recent event.
The Chief Minister's statement came in response to the opposition Congress, which accused him of insulting Chazhikadan at the Nava Kerala Sadas venue in Pala. Kerala Congress (M) is a key partner of the CPI(M)-led LDF.
The Congress had claimed that Vijayan's behaviour was an affront to the late KC(M) leader K M Mani in his party's stronghold of Pala.
Reacting to the Congress charges at a press meet here during the Nava Kerala Sadas today, Vijayan said the Kottayam MP was present throughout the event at Pala, emphasising that nobody had been disrespected.
According to him, the focus was on explaining issues in detail to the people.
"There are no issues between us, between Nava Kerala Sadas and the Kottayam MP," the left leader said.
Taking on the Congress, he said, "When the Congress doesn't have anything else to accuse us of, they create issues out of nothing. They enjoy crafting fake narratives and trying to establish complaints that don't exist. This is a type of mental illness."
During the Nava Kerala Sadas programme in Pala, Chazhikadan raised certain demands for his constituency. Vijayan reportedly said that the Kottayam MP had brought up matters that did not align well with the objectives of the Nava Kerala Sadas programme.
This exchange occurred in the presence of KC (M) chairman Jose K Mani and the party's nominee in Vijayan's ministry, Roshy Augustine.
Attacking the CM and the Left party, KPCC president K Sudhakaran had said that Vijayan had insulted Chazhikadan who has been toiling for many days to make the Nava Kerala Sadas a success. He sought an apology from the chief minister.
The Congress leader had said that by insulting Chazhikkadan, Vijayan had insulted around 12 lakh rubber farmers whose issues the MP had raised in the event.
Sudhakaran alleged that the Left government was taking no action even after the price of rubber had fallen below Rs 140 per kg. Kerala Congress (M) was insulted at a constituency where K M Mani was elected 13 times, Sudhakaran said.