Video of argument between senior Congress leaders at press meet in Kerala goes viral
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A viral video in which two senior Congress leaders in Kerala are purportedly seen having an argument over addressing a press conference has brought embarrassment to the party in the southern state.
KPCC Chief K Sudhakaran and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly V D Satheesan are seen arguing with each other over who should address the reporters first at the press meet held soon after the victory of the party candidate in the recent Puthuppally bypoll was declared.
As the video went viral on social media platforms, Satheesan came out with an explanation on Wednesday, saying it was just a friendly exchange and there was no serious disagreement between them.
However, the ruling LDF in the state took a dig at the Congress with the Left front's convenor E P Jayarajan saying "I am happy it did not turn into a fight".
Jayarajan said there were a lot of problems within the Congress-led UDF opposition and it was only going to get worse.
"This time it was over a mic, next time it will be something else," he said.
At the same time, he said that the Left front does not wish for the Congress or the UDF to be destroyed by the infighting.
When reporters asked about the video, Satheesan admitted that there was some argument between them at that time.
But it was not like the one which you (media) imagined, he said with a smile.
"When the party candidate won the bypoll with a record majority of over 37,000 votes, the KPCC chief said he would give full credit for the victory to me during the press meet. But I disagreed with it. I told him that the credit should be given to Team United Democratic Front."
Satheesan further said that when Sudhakaran continued to insist, he handed over the microphone to him.
The LoP said the KPCC Chief was very adamant and said what he wished to say in the press meet and gave him the whole credit of the bypoll victory.
The Congress added that he didn't speak much during the press conference as he was suffering from a throat infection.
In the video, it could be seen that a visibly annoyed Satheesan was turning the television channel microphones, placed on a table in front of them, towards Sudhakaran and remaining silent throughout the press meet.
Satheesan was also seen refusing to accept the shawls presented to him by the party workers at the venue of the press conference.
Sudhakaran is yet to comment on the incident.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
