Wayanad (Kerala), March 1 A touching moment between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a three-year-old girl during the inauguration of the much-awaited township for landslide survivors in Wayanad became a focal point for political debate on Sunday.
The CPI (M) leaders used the interaction to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comparing his previous interaction with the girl.
The girl, identified as Nysa, gained national attention after PM Modi interacted with her during his visit to a hospital in this hill district shortly after the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide tragedy.
One of the youngest survivors of the tragedy, Nysa, had lost her father, siblings, and home to the disaster that struck Wayanad on July 30, 2024.
The video of the heartwarming exchanges between the three-year-old girl and the PM went viral on social media platforms and was widely carried by national media.
Nysa and her mother also received new homes when CM Vijayan handed over houses to 178 survivors at the newly constructed township.
Soon after television channels aired visuals of CM Vijayan's interaction, senior CPI (M) leader and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas and General Education Minister V Sivankutty praised the gesture on their social media accounts.
Brittas, in his Facebook post, shared videos of both the PM and the CM with the girl, stating that one person had "left after his show," while the other had implemented his promises.
The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the Prime Minister, who had taken the child in his arms and pampered her during his visit, refused to give anything to her or her family later.
The Chief Minister, on the other hand, pointed out that he had held the girl in his lap and fulfilled his promises to her.
In his Facebook post, Sivankutty also criticized PM Modi, saying, "What was seen in the reel then and what is being seen in reality today."
"The Left government only says what it can do and it does what it says," the senior leader posted.
Senior CPI (M) leader K K Shailja also shared a photo of CM Vijayan with Nysa, describing the township inauguration as a "new chapter" in the history of survival.
The township inauguration also witnessed Congress' Kalpetta legislator T Siddique being heckled and booed by a crowd during his speech.
There was also booing when his name was mentioned during the welcome address.
Reacting to the incident, Siddique said it was staged by CPI (M) workers, who were protesting against him.
Noting that everyone worked with the government for the rehabilitation of the landslide victims, he said he would continue to work for them in the future as well.
During his speech, Revenue Minister K Rajan apparently took a dig at Siddique and the Congress party, saying that the Left government is not the one that merely lays a single stone and leaves, but it places stone upon stone and builds further.
