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The Hindu
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Youth Congress locks horns with veteran Congress leader P.J. Kurien
A war of words has erupted between the Youth Congress leadership and veteran Congress leader P.J. Kurien following his public criticism of the outfit's diminished presence in protest movements. Speaking at a party event in Pathanamthitta the other day, Mr. Kurien, a member of the Congress' Political Affairs Committee, lauded the Students' Federation of India (SFI) under the CPI(M), for aligning itself with 'the disaffected youth.' In contrast, the Youth Congress leaders are visible only on television and are absent from ground-level struggles, he said. 'Who you parade on stages does not count, if you can't even gather 25 youngsters on the ground in a constituency,' Mr. Kurien said, referring to Youth Congress State president and MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, who was present at the event. A rebuttal Responding to the remarks, Mr. Mamkootathil said he accepted the criticism with grace but offered a pointed rebuttal. 'Youth Congress members may be fewer at family gatherings, but that's not the case when it comes to street protests,' he said. His response was followed by a wave of strong reactions from Youth Congress leaders on social media. On his own Facebook page, Mr. Mamkootathil posted on Sunday, 'Let those with eyes see and those with ears hear,' sharing a video of Youth Congress workers in Pathanamthitta, including its district president, being taken into preventive custody by the police ahead of Health Minister Veena George's visit to Aranmula. Jithin G. Ninan, general secretary of the Youth Congress in Pathanamthitta, also took to social media to express his displeasure. 'From now on, I will not refer to him as 'Kurien sir',' he wrote. 'The Youth Congress has been consistently protesting for the past nine years. Many of our leaders have faced police brutality and imprisonment. We cannot accept criticism from someone like Mr. Kurien, who hasn't even endured a police shove.' 'Mentor youth first' A few other members also invoked past controversies involving Mr. Kurien. In a veiled reference to old allegations, some leaders suggested Youth Congress activists are not the ones appearing on television in abuse cases. Others criticised Mr. Kurien's inability to foster grassroots leadership. 'He has not been able to appoint even a mandalam president in his own village, Puramattom,' one social media post pointed out. Several Youth Congress supporters ridiculed the veteran leader online, suggesting he should focus on mentoring even a single young party worker before casting judgment.
The Print
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Nilambur bypoll: Controversy erupts over checking of UDF leaders' vehicle
Parambil and Mamkootathil told reporters on Saturday that the intention behind the checking was to 'insult' them. Congress MP Shafi Parambil and party MLA Rahul Mamkootathil were among those travelling in the vehicle and were seen arguing, in visuals shown on a TV channel, with the election and police officials over the incident near Vadapuram here. Malappuram(Kerala), Jun 14 (PTI) A fresh controversy has erupted amidst the Nilambur assembly bypoll campaign following a late Friday night inspection of a vehicle in which some UDF leaders were travelling. At the same time, the two Congress leaders said that even though they were 'irritated' by the 'insult', they are not going to lodge a complaint as they have no interest in making it a point of political discussion during the ongoing campaign. The CPI(M), on the other hand, contended that the Congress-led UDF was creating an unnecessary controversy over a procedure which was normal during the election process. Explaining what happened on Friday night, Parambil said that he, Mamkootathil and some others were coming back after having food when the police asked them to stop the vehicle and step out. 'I stopped the car and got out. They asked me to open the boot, and I did that. They asked me to take out the suitcase and other baggage, and I did that as well. Then they simply said everything was fine and that we could go. 'At that time, we insisted that they inspect the suitcase and video record the same and also answer if anything was found in it. We insisted, as we understood the intention behind the checking was not an inspection, but to insult us,' Parambil said. Both Congress leaders contended that they cooperated with the checking in every way, but when the officials did not inspect the suitcase after it was taken out of the vehicle, they insisted that it be opened and checked. In the visuals, the two Congress leaders can be heard asking the officials whether they had x-ray vision and insisting that they open the suitcase. Mamkootathil was also seen in the video telling the officials that they will be 'rewarded' for their action. On Saturday morning, another team of election officials at the same check post told TV channels that vehicles of MPs, MLAs and ministers were not being sidelined from checking. They said that the vehicles of MPs P V Abdul Wahab and K Radhakrishnan were inspected in the morning. They, however, claimed a lack of knowledge about what happened during the previous night. Following the incident, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan and party candidate in Nilambur bypoll M Swaraj said that everyone should cooperate with such inspections. Govindan claimed that the UDF was creating unnecessary controversy over the issue, as such inspections were part of the election process. 'We have no issue with our vehicles being examined,' he added. Meanwhile, Malappuram District Collector V R Vinod, who is also the District Election Officer, said that 'comprehensive checking of vehicles' was part of the duties of the Static Surveillance teams and requested the public to cooperate with these 'mandatory activities in connection with the conduct of elections'. The Collector, in a statement, said that as part of enforcing the Model Code of Conduct, 10 Static Surveillance teams, nine flying squads, three anti-defacement units, and two video surveillance teams were working in the Nilambur legislative assembly constituency. 'These are the mandatory requirements as per the Election law and the instructions issued by the Election Commission of India,' he said. Last year, during the Palakkad assembly bypoll, there was a political row over a suitcase brought by the then Congress candidate Mamkootathil to the hotel where he and other party leaders were staying during the election campaign. The CPI(M) had alleged that unaccounted money was brought to the hotel in that suitcase. Despite the allegations, Mamkootathil won with a huge majority from the Palakkad assembly seat. PTI HMP HMP ADB This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
Time of India
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Nilambur bypoll: Controversy erupts over checking of UDF leaders' vehicle
Malappuram(Kerala): A fresh controversy has erupted amidst the Nilambur assembly bypoll campaign following a late Friday night inspection of a vehicle in which some UDF leaders were travelling. Congress MP Shafi Parambil and party MLA Rahul Mamkootathil were among those travelling in the vehicle and were seen arguing, in visuals shown on a TV channel, with the election and police officials over the incident near Vadapuram here. Parambil and Mamkootathil told reporters on Saturday that the intention behind the checking was to "insult" them. At the same time, the two Congress leaders said that even though they were "irritated" by the "insult", they are not going to lodge a complaint as they have no interest in making it a point of political discussion during the ongoing campaign. The CPI(M), on the other hand, contended that the Congress-led UDF was creating an unnecessary controversy over a procedure which was normal during the election process. Live Events Explaining what happened on Friday night, Parambil said that he, Mamkootathil and some others were coming back after having food when the police asked them to stop the vehicle and step out. "I stopped the car and got out. They asked me to open the boot, and I did that. They asked me to take out the suitcase and other baggage, and I did that as well. Then they simply said everything was fine and that we could go. "At that time, we insisted that they inspect the suitcase and video record the same and also answer if anything was found in it. We insisted, as we understood the intention behind the checking was not an inspection, but to insult us," Parambil said. Both Congress leaders contended that they cooperated with the checking in every way, but when the officials did not inspect the suitcase after it was taken out of the vehicle, they insisted that it be opened and checked. In the visuals, the two Congress leaders can be heard asking the officials whether they had x-ray vision and insisting that they open the suitcase. Mamkootathil was also seen in the video telling the officials that they will be "rewarded" for their action. On Saturday morning, another team of election officials at the same check post told TV channels that vehicles of MPs, MLAs and ministers were not being sidelined from checking. They said that the vehicles of MPs P V Abdul Wahab (IUML) and K Radhakrishnan (CPI-M) were inspected in the morning. They, however, claimed a lack of knowledge about what happened during the previous night. Following the incident, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan and party candidate in Nilambur bypoll M Swaraj said that everyone should cooperate with such inspections. Govindan claimed that the UDF was creating unnecessary controversy over the issue, as such inspections were part of the election process. "We have no issue with our vehicles being examined," he added. Meanwhile, Malappuram District Collector V R Vinod, who is also the District Election Officer, said that "comprehensive checking of vehicles" was part of the duties of the Static Surveillance teams and requested the public to cooperate with these "mandatory activities in connection with the conduct of elections". The Collector, in a statement, said that as part of enforcing the Model Code of Conduct, 10 Static Surveillance teams, nine flying squads, three anti-defacement units, and two video surveillance teams were working in the Nilambur legislative assembly constituency. "These are the mandatory requirements as per the Election law and the instructions issued by the Election Commission of India," he said. Last year, during the Palakkad assembly bypoll, there was a political row over a suitcase brought by the then Congress candidate Mamkootathil to the hotel where he and other party leaders were staying during the election campaign. The CPI(M) had alleged that unaccounted money was brought to the hotel in that suitcase.
The Hindu
02-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Late-night mission to Anvar's house puts Mamkootathil in a spot
A furtive late-night visit to All India Trinamool Congress (AITMC) leader P.V. Anvar's house in Malappuram, ostensibly to beseech him not to contest in the Nilambur Assembly bypoll, appears to have put Youth Congress State president Rahul Mamkootathil, and his party's leadership, in a spot. Discomfitingly for the Congress, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] campaign in Nilambur alleged that Mr. Mamkootathil had fallen to his knees in supplication in front of Mr. Anvar at the behest of his 'mentor' and Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan, and the UDF was panicky about the AITMC leader's independent electoral foray. The CPI(M) disseminated viral videos of Mr. Mamkootathil glad-handling Mr. Anvar. Mr. Anvar, a twice-elected Left Democratic Front-backed (LDF) Independent legislator from Nilambur, had lobbied for a position in the United Democratic Front (UDF) since his bitter exit from the ruling front, consequent to his resignation as Nilambur MLA. and political re-emergence as the AITMC's State coordinator. Mr. Mamkootathil's 'self-styled mission' to Mr. Anvar came on the day when the UDF proclaimed it was loath to accommodate Mr. Anvar in the alliance until the latter agreed to withdraw his public scepticism about the winnability of Congress candidate Aryadan Shoukath in Nilambur. The UDF also appeared chary of Mr. Anvar's alleged bid to dictate the candidate selection process by suggesting the name of another local leader from the Christian settler-farmer community, a significant electoral bloc in the constituency, instead. 'A disservice' Mr. Satheesan disavowed Mr. Mamkootathil's overture to Mr. Anvar. He said Mr. Mamkootathil had done the party and the UDF a disservice. Neither the Congress nor the UDF had tasked him to play an emissary's role. 'He went on his own volition, and I have castigated him for the unsanctioned act,' he said. Mr. Mamkootathil said he had called on Mr. Anvar to persuade the latter not to lose focus on dismantling 'Pinarayism,' a UDF euphemism for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's governance. His response Mr. Mamkootathil dismissed accusations that he had left a UDF campaign meeting for the impromptu late-night embassy without informing party colleagues and in an alleged act of political one-upmanship. 'I accept the Congress's decision that I had erred,' he said. Mr. Anvar said he had told Mr. Mamkootathil that Mr. Satheesan was the sole obstacle to his UDF entry and alleged that the Leader of the Opposition was in cahoots with Mr. Vijayan to deny the AITMC political space in Kerala.
