Thiruvananthapuram: An unseemly remark by Kerala state Congress president Mullappally Ramachandran, describing health minister Shailaja Teacher as ‘Nipah princess’ and ‘Covid queen’ for her leadership of the state’s anti-coronavirus campaign has unleashed a no-holds barred slugfest between the government and the opposition.
Quoting a report carried by a London newspaper that referred Shailaja Teacher to a rock star for her role in fighting the Nipah outbreak earlier and the Covid-19 virus spread now, Ramachandran, who is a former Union minister, claimed the health minister was more interested in putting up a show. He apparently mistook ‘rock star’ to mean a ‘rock dancer’.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at his evening press briefing on Saturday tore the KPCC chief apart for his ‘anti-women’ outburst and said this betrayed his lowly state of mind. He used the remarks to launch a broadside against the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF), which he said was upset people were crediting the govt for its good work in dealing with the virus outbreak.
The uncharacteristic utterances by the KPCC chief seemed to have embarrassed the opposition initially, with many Congress leaders trying to distance themselves from the remarks. Some front constituents, such as the Indian Union Muslim League, even decried the statement and it appeared the KPCC president was ploughing a lonely furrow.
But the aggressive manner in which the CM used the incident to attack the opposition, accusing it of trying to subvert the govt’s anti-Covid fight, prompted a counter-offensive from the Congress.
It was spearheaded by Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala, who held an unusual Sunday press meet to produce of a long list of below-the-belt references to adversaries used in the past by Vijayan.
Chennithala asserted the CM’s broadside was a sign of his uneasiness about the opposition’s campaign the government was using the Covid crisis to make money on the side through corruption.
He challenged the CM to prove exposing corruption was a violation of the Covid protocol and promised to bring more such instances to light. He referred to the Sprinklr deal, state government was forced to cancel due to the intervention of the court and mounting pressure of public opinion.
The opposition criticism also compelled the government to announce reliefs to the state’s electricity consumers after the Electricity Board delivered what turned out to be inflated bills, combining the lockdown months, which put the consumption to the higher slab warranting an increase in the rates. While the government insisted initially there was nothing wrong, a sustained state-wide campaign by the UDF forced the government to announce Rs 200 crore worth of relief to consumers.
The opposition is in no mood to relent as this has provided it a golden opportunity to attack the government and poison the minds of a large section of the population against the ruling party, which has serious implications for both sides in the coming elections.
