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Ex-minister’s remarks against woman legislator disrupt Kerala assembly, again
MM Mani had said, “that great woman became a widow. It is her own fate. We are not responsible for it.”
Kerala assembly was disrupted for the second consecutive day on Friday over former minister MM Mani’s (CPI-M) remarks against Revolutionary Socialist Party (RMP) leader and legislator KK Rema.
On Thursday, Mani said, “that great woman became a widow. It is her own fate. We are not responsible for it.”
Her husband TP Chandrasekhar, a Marxist renegade and founder of the RMP, was killed by CPI(M) workers in 2012 and several party workers were sentenced in the case later.
Though the ruling CPI(M) insisted that Mani did not say anything to insult her, other CPI leaders and women members expressed their disapproval against his remarks.
“His words are in bad taste and we condemn them. A Communist should not have uttered these remarks,” said CPI leader Annie Raja. Party MP Binoy Viswom also deplored his statement and asked him to withdraw it.
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Despite all of this, Mani didn’t relent and insisted he did not say anything wrong.
“She always portrays the CM in bad light in the house. In fact, opposition was using her to target the CM. When she continuously raised serious charges against him, I replied to her,” he said adding he has no plan to withdraw his words or apologise.
“His remarks were anti-women and misogynistic. He should tender an unconditional apology. But what is really shocking is the justification given by CM Pinarayi Vijayan,” said opposition leader VD Satheesan.
Pinarayi Vijayan was party secretary when TP Chandrasekhar was killed in 2012.
Later, finance minister P Rajeev replied to the opposition leader saying what Mani said was the CPI(M) was nothing to do with the killing of TP Chandrasekhar. Speaker MB Rajesh adjourned the house after protests mounted.
Reacting to the statement, Rema said such personal attacks will not pull her back.
“I suffered worst at the hands of the CPI(M). Such cheap attacks would not affect me,” she said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also condemned Mani’s statement.
“This shows the so-called progressive party’s attitude towards women,” said party state president K Surendran.
This is not the first time, Mani has been embroiled in such a controversy.
In 2012 , the then-Idukki district secretary of the CPI(M), he had said the party often resorted to political killings and warned TP Chandrasekhran’s murder was not the last one. He gave a blow-by-blow account of how the party carried out these killings.
“We had prepared a list of 13 and killed the first three. The first one was shot dead, second beaten to death and third was hacked to death,” he had claimed.
His speech evoked sharp criticism triggering a nationwide protest after which he was suspended from the state committee.
Though the party’s central leadership wanted stern action against him, the state unit wasn’t ready to sack the senior leader who remained Idukki’s district secretary for over 20 years.
Even during the floods in August 2018 in the state, he had said big floods do happen in every century and it was natural to have death and destruction.
