Thiruvananthapuram/Kottayam, April 8 Senior Congress leaders on Wednesday criticised Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan over his remarks – which were considered highly offensive – directed at his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy, in response to another jibe from the Congress leader.
Congress leaders also said that the chief minister should be a role model for the state and "he was setting a wrong example".
A heated exchange of words, both in the physical and virtual realms, between Vijayan and Telangana CM Revanth Reddy escalated on Tuesday.
The controversy began after Reddy had mocked the Kerala CM, saying "nee po mone Vijaya" (which translates to "your time is over, Vijayan"), by rephrasing a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in the Nemom constituency. Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
On Tuesday, Vijayan used Malayalam words that were seen as highly offensive to describe Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Senior Congress leader Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, contesting from the Kottayam Assembly seat in the April 9 polls, joked that "the CM thought that while he was on his way out, he may as well abuse someone".
"Otherwise, a CM does not speak like that. He is a role model for others. If he uses derogatory words, imagine how people would react?" he asked while speaking to a TV channel.
Senior Congress leader and party candidate from Vattiyoorkavu Assembly constituency K Muraleedharan, was also of the view that the CM was setting a wrong example, especially for the younger generation.
"He (CM) should introspect whether what he did was right. What if tomorrow, some kids use such words and justify it by saying that they used the same language as the CM? Just think," he told a TV channel.
Muraleedharan further claimed that the CM deliberately used those words to divert attention from the Sabarimala gold loss and other allegations against the Left government.
Responding to these allegations, Vijayan had said that the Telangana CM was "misinformed" and accused him of "ridiculing" Kerala and its people while trying to hide the weaknesses of his own state.
Later, he used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory against Reddy. There was no immediate reaction from the ruling CPI(M) or CM to these criticisms.
