KOZHIKODE: In Kerala’s high-stakes political theatre, even a carefully framed reel can turn into an unscripted satire. A viral video meant to showcase public gratitude towards M V Govindan has now turned into a debate on whether the scene was a genuine public moment or a rehearsed political performance.
The now-viral visuals from a CPM Vikasana Munneta Yatra in Balussery showed an elderly man dramatically pulling `2,000 from his pocket and handing it over to Govindan. The man, identified as Moideen, declared that the money was his pension received from the government and warned that if the UDF returned to power, pensions might disappear. In the video, Govindan is seen gently placing the money back into Moideen’s pocket — a gesture that left party handles swooning and social media pages flooding with captions about “people’s trust in the Left government.”
But the script appears to have developed cracks. Moideen has now claimed that he did not voluntarily walk onto the stage to donate his pension. According to him, some individuals escorted him to the stage and asked him to hand over the money for the video.
Left-leaning social media accounts had widely circulated the reel to amplify the message: “Let the government that gives pensions continue.” However, the narrative has boomeranged. Going online, Congress supporters argue that the “pre-written screenplay” has collapsed mid-performance.