Kannur (Kerala) | A war of words between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and his Telangana counterpart Revanth Reddy turned acrimonious on Tuesday, the final day of campaigning for the April 9 Assembly polls.
The escalation came after Vijayan, responding to Reddy's earlier remarks, used Malayalam expressions considered nearly derogatory, signalling strong disapproval of the Telangana CM's comments.
Reddy, who was campaigning for the UDF in Pathanapuram in Kollam district, hit back swiftly, likening Vijayan to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said he would take any personal remarks from the senior leader as a "blessing" considering his age, but objected to what he described as insults directed at the people of Kerala. "But you cannot abuse our Kerala people," he said, hours before campaigning drew to a close.
The controversy began after Reddy had used the words "nee po mone Vijaya" in invoking a famous dialogue from superstar Mohanlal's blockbuster movie "Narasimham" while referring to Vijayan on April 1 during a UDF campaign roadshow in Nemom constituency.
Earlier in the day, while reacting to the previous remarks made by Reddy at a meet-the-press porgramme in Kannur, the Kerala CM said that a chief minister must maintain basic standards of conduct and questioned whether such dignity was being followed.
Without going into a detailed reply, Vijayan said that he would respond at the right time.
In his response to the media to a query, Vijayan used words that were seen as nearly derogatory in Malayalam to call Reddy, signalling his strong disapproval of the remarks made against him.
Sharply reacting to the CM's objectionable remarks, Congress leader V D Satheesan said Vijayan appeared to have "completely lost composure" and warned that any further deterioration in his conduct would have brought "greater embarrassment" to the state.
"Kerala would have had to bow its head in shame," he said in a strongly-worded reaction.
In a sarcastic remark, the Congress leader also said he did not get time to advise Reddy to refrain from commenting on Vijayan, alleging that the Kerala CM tends to respond using "derogatory language".
After the critical remarks during the press meet, Vijayan came up with a hard-hitting post on his 'X' handle stating that political differences are natural, but expressing strong disagreement through personally insulting remarks is an attitude that he rejects.
The Left veteran also said Reddy's statements lack factual backing.
In a detailed letter attached with the 'X' post addressing the Telangana CM, Vijayan said the experience of the people of Kerala was "vastly different" from what Reddy had portrayed.
The Kerala CM clarified that he did not intend to engage in a debate over the performance of the Telangana government, stating that it was for the people of Telangana and political parties there to assess their government.
Referring to Reddy's comments made during the election campaign in Kerala, Vijayan said the LDF government has been consistently publishing progress reports over the past 10 years on the implementation of its election promises, underlining its commitment to continuous accountability.
He also rejected the allegation of "selective appropriation" of Kerala's achievements, including its top ranking in the NITI Aayog SDG Index, and said such criticism was misplaced.
Dismissing claims of industrial stagnation, Vijayan said Kerala has made significant strides in the startup ecosystem and ease of doing business, adding that these achievements have been widely acknowledged.
The chief minister also alleged that key infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the Kochi Metro and Vizhinjam Port, faced delays under previous Congress-led governments at the Centre, while long-pending promises such as a railway coach factory remained unfulfilled.
Vijayan further accused the BJP-led Union government of discrimination against Kerala and said the state has been actively resisting what he described as "anti-federal and undemocratic" policies through legal and political means, including approaching the Supreme Court.
He also rejected Reddy's criticism that the LDF was not vocal enough against the BJP, asserting that Kerala has been at the forefront of defending constitutional values.
Concluding his letter, Vijayan reiterated the state government's commitment to building a "Nava Keralam" and moving forward as a model for others.
On April 1, while addressing party workers in Nemom, Reddy used the popular Malayalam film dialogue "Nee po mone Vijaya" from 'Narasimham'. He adapted it to target Vijayan, saying "Nee po mone Vijaya", which drew loud cheers from the crowd.
Reddy went further, claiming that Vijayan's "time is over" and that his "expiry date has passed".
"Your time is over. Your expiry date is over. You don't have any time to continue. Now, the UDF's time has come," he had said during the roadshow.
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.
In a later response, Reddy defended his remarks and said that many of the statistics cited by Vijayan were taken from the NITI Aayog SDG Index 2023 24, arguing that the data was already outdated.
