Thiruvananthapuram, 25 March (H.S.):Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday strongly condemned the derogatory remarks made by a Muslim League leader against LDF candidate and sitting MLA U. Prathibha in Kayamkulam, describing the incident as a reflection of the “collapse of political culture.”

The Chief Minister’s response came through a Facebook post following widespread criticism over comments made by A. Irshad, the UDF convenor in the constituency, during an election convention held in support of UDF candidate M. Liju. The remarks, widely perceived as sexist and insulting, have triggered a political controversy in the State amid the ongoing Assembly election campaign.

Vijayan said that targeting a woman public representative with abusive and demeaning language was unacceptable and indicative of a regressive mindset. He alleged that the opposition had resorted to personal attacks because it was unable to politically counter the development initiatives and public engagement carried out by Prathibha as an MLA.

Taking a dig at opposition leaders, the Chief Minister criticised what he termed as their “hypocrisy,” pointing out the contradiction between their public stance of supporting women and their silence or inaction against such remarks. “This is not merely an attack on one individual, but an insult to all women who participate in public life,” he said.

Vijayan further stated that such comments reveal a decayed political attitude that fails to recognise women as individuals with dignity and agency. He accused the UDF of attempting to gain electoral advantage through personal attacks rather than engaging in meaningful discussions on development and public issues.

Reaffirming the Left’s commitment to protecting women’s dignity and rights, the Chief Minister asserted that Kerala has consistently stood with progressive values and would continue to do so.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman