Pinarayi embodies betrayal, Venugopal fires back

Congress national general secretary K.C. Venugopal inaugurating a UDF convention at Nilambur on Monday. | Photo Credit: SAKEER HUSSAIN

Congress national general secretary K.C. Venugopal has lashed out at Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan for the betrayal remarks he made at Nilambur on Sunday.

Inaugurating a United Democratic Front (UDF) convention as part of UDF candidate Aryadan Shoukath’s electioneering at Nilambur on Monday, Mr. Venugopal said that Mr. Vijayan embodied betrayal.

Referencing the 1921 Malabar Rebellion and its hero Variyankunnath Kunhahamed Haji, the Chief Minister had said that Nilambur was home to both heroes and those who betrayed them. He said that the Left Democratic Front (LDF) too had faced betrayal in Nilambur, specifically referencing the resignation of former independent MLA P.V. Anvar, which has led to the June 19 byelection.

Slamming the Chief Minister, Mr. Venugopal said that it was good that Mr. Vijayan spoke about betrayal in Nilambur. “It was the Chief Minister who betrayed and insulted the people of Malappuram by portraying them as gold smugglers and extremists. Kerala will not forget that betrayal,” he said.

Mr. Venugopal also took a dig at the Chief Minister for attacking Syed Sadikali Shihab Thangal of Panakkad.

“The Chief Minister faced accusations of betrayal from his own ex-Cabinet Minister, who claimed that the government helped to sabotage Thrissur Pooram to aid the BJP’s Lok Sabha victory in Thrissur,” said Mr. Venugopal.

He said that the Nilambur byelection was a consequence of the Pinarayi Vijayan government’s failures and unpopular decisions. He also criticised Mr. Vijayan for not visiting Kooriyad, where the National Highway-66 collapsed. “Is it not such a big matter? Startling revelations have been made about the national highway before the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by Transport Secretary and National Highways Authority of India chairman.”

“The Chief Minister never asked for the NHAI authorities to visit the collapsed highway. The NHAI Chairman is now on a historic visit to examine the highway because PAC asked,” he said.

“Mr. Pinarayi, the perfumes of Arabia are powerless to erase the guilt that clings to your hands,” Mr. Venugopal quoted, drawing from Shakespeare’s Macbeth.

The convention saw a strong turnout of UDF leaders from across the State. Among them were Adoor Prakash, Sunny Joseph, V.D. Satheesan, P.K. Kunhalikutty, N.K. Premachandran, A.P. Anil Kumar, M.M. Hassan, P.V. Abdul Wahab, Shibu Baby John, M.K. Muneer, Kodikkunnil Suresh, Benny Behanan, K.C. Joseph, K.P.A. Majeed, Abdussamad Samadani, V.S. Joy, P.K. Basheer, P.T. Ajay Mohan, Shanimol Usman, Shafi Parambil, C.P. John, Anoop Jacob, Rajan Babu, Mons Joseph, P.M.A. Salam and P. Abdul Hameed. Deepadas Munshi also attended the convention.

Published - June 02, 2025 08:01 pm IST