Congress MP Kodikkunnil Suresh has made a controversial statement that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s stand on renaissance was a farce as he had not married off his daughter to a member from the Scheduled Caste community.
“Vijayan became a renaissance leader after the Sabarimala women entry issue. But if Vijayan was sincere on his renaissance stand he should have married off his daughter to a member from the SC community. There are many young SC leaders within the CPM itself. Vijayan’s renaissance stand was just a farce,” Suresh, who is also the Kerala PCC working president, said while causing a stir in Thiruvananthapuram after seeking a CBI probe into alleged malpractice in SC-ST welfare and development funds distribution.
Suresh’s statement was not backed by Congress leaders in Kerala. Leader of opposition V D Satheesan said that Suresh's statement was not the Congress’s stand.
Vijayan’s daughter Veena married Kerala Tourism Minister Mohammed Riyaz last year. Riyaz was then a DYFI national president and after winning in the Kerala Assembly elections, he was made a minister. It was both Riyaz and Veena's second marriage.