THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid the pandemic, KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran has found himself at the centre of a political storm after his ‘Covid queen, Nipah princess’ remark on Health Minister KK Shailaja. While the controversial spin of words put the opposition UDF in a tight spot, the Left has unleashed a scathing attack on the state Congress chief. On Saturday, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan termed Mullappally a “prisoner of his own insanity”.
A day after his remarks invited sharp criticism even from the BJP, the state Congress chief stood his ground and made it clear that he would not apologise.Though many UDF leaders wanted Mullappally to apologise or retract his words, he remained defiant and stressed that Shailaja had not done any meritorious work. He even went on to state that a British publication had termed the health minister a “rock dancer”. With both the UDF and Congress leaderships feeling the heat, there are indications that Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala has asked Mullappally to put a stop to his tirade against the health minister.
Meanwhile, the Left leadership came down heavily on the KPPC president, demanding an apology. The LDF alleged the remarks exposed a hidden agenda to sabotage Kerala’s Covid control measures. The most scathing attack came from the Chief Minister, who said, “The KPCC president has become a prisoner of his own insanity.
He is not even able to mention the name of sister Lini (nurse who died of Nipah) properly. If he feels agitated when the world praises Kerala, how degraded a mindset could that be! When Kerala has become a model for the entire world, here’s a Congress leader who’s bent on exemplifying how a political activist should not be.” He said Mullappally’s rant against Shailaja reflects a peculiar state of mind. “It’s also anti-women. Is this how you perceive women? It’s unfortunate the KPCC president has fallen into a truly pitiable state of mind that such remarks can get him media attention,” CM mocked.