Actor-turned-MLA K B Ganesh Kumar has lambasted fellow actor Vinayakan for making “insensitive and unfortunate” remarks against the late Chief Minister Oommen Chandy who tried to “help all the people approaching him without looking at their party”.
Terming Vinayakan as one lacking dignity and decency, Ganesh Kumar slammed him for committing “a very unfortunate and shameful act.” Such people should not be included in the category of artists, but rather with drug addicts lying on the road, he lashed out in an interview to a YouTube channel.
"Vinayakan has made a very unfortunate remark that puts Kerala society to shame. It is through such comments that we understand one's standard. Our Indian culture, especially of Kerala, is one that gives respect to the dead more than the living. We Malayalees have a culture of respecting all individuals and we even take the initiative to cremate a dead animal lying on the roadside. This is a shameful remark. The poor get a lot of help from public servants like Oommen Chandy. Oommen Chandy was someone who came out to the aid of anyone who sought his help, without looking at his party. Someone who is of no use to society has no right to say anything about him. Only an uncultured person can behave like this,” Kumar lashed out.
“…Oommen Chandy was the one who came to the help of people without looking at their party. Someone who is of no use to society has no right to say anything about him. Oommen Chandy's children said ‘no’ to taking the case because they have dignity. But instead of sparing such people, the police should either register a case or the court should directly intervene and register a case,” Ganesh Kumar slammed.
The Kerala Congress (B) leader urged cine bodies to take action against Vinayakan.
“Our society should isolate those who shower abuse after drinking alcohol and consuming drugs. His was rude talk. In Malayalam, the word chathu (dead) is used when a dog, a cat, or a mouse dies. How low is the culture of the man who says that his own father just died (chathu). You have to show them their place. The film bodies should take action against such people. The issue is not whether Oommen Chandy Sir's family has a complaint. The police should suo motu register a case against such uncultured people. People who use social media for such dirty things should be punished. If the police do not register a case, the honourable court should intervene in the matter and register a case. Oommen Chandy Sir, who is a two-time chief minister of the state, is a public servant who is still loved by the people of Kerala. An ‘ineligible man’ has no right to abuse someone who saved people who were stuck abroad, and those trapped on the gallows abroad by pledging 'blood money.'
“There is no doubt that some people have a tendency to shout or boo, standing on the shoulders of those who are at the top of society. I have no hesitation in calling them substandard people. Action should be taken against such people and they should be imprisoned. They have no commitment to anyone. Their goal is to have their happiness, joy, intoxication, etc. What value does their opinion have? Don't expect anything from people who even refer to their own father’s death as similar to a dog’s death or a cat’s death. Cultural heroes like Sukumar Azhikode have lived in Kerala. No one should try to include such people in the category of cultural figures when we have eminent cultural and literary heroes like M T Vasudevan Nair and T Padmanabhan. Put them in the group of people lying on the road after getting intoxicated. Don't club them with gentlemen. No one has the right to insult even a member of a panchayat, irrespective of their party. Such people don’t understand how such public figures help the poor. These are people who hide in their dream world in the glass ceiling. All this glass palace will crumble down. I've been watching movies for ten to forty years. Such people had appeared on many occasions. They had vanished like that. None of them are part of the film industry or the cultural scene of Kerala. Film organizations should take strict action against such people. If it is Oommen Chandy today, it will be someone else tomorrow, and no one has given any license for them to insult anyone like that. Those who handle social media should handle it well. The media should also deal with such creatures.
“I have seen him misbehave with a journalist earlier. Don't think it doesn't matter. That will increase their arrogance. While living in a society, one has to show respect to women and other people. There's no point in saying he's like that. It's a different kind of ‘illness’. Such people are encouraged by those who want everyone to be destroyed. Even if the country is destroyed, they just want themselves to be happy. They are called undignified people. What right does such a person have to insult a public servant who has helped someone, at least on one occasion? How many people has this person helped, how many have been fed by him, how many he has given houses to, and the tears of how many he has wiped? Oommen Chandy's children ask not to lodge a case because they have courtesy. But a case should be registered against such rude people.
“Those who have a stinking mind should be dealt the treatment they deserve. In the film Yavanika, there is a dialogue in which Mammukka tells Ashok: "Every name is God’s name." But there is no point in bearing God’s name. Despite bearing God’s name, he has resorted to an undignified act. Even though I stand with a party opposite Oommen Chandy, it pained me. Everyone knows that the person who made such a remark had no quality. A great man is dying, and everybody is in absolute grief. But here is a man who is causing collateral damage when the house has caught fire," Ganesh Kumar added.
Earlier, during a live Facebook session, Vinayakan was seen expressing his disdain for Oommen Chandy, questioning his significance and the reason behind granting a holiday as a mark of respect to him. The actor's remarks drew sharp criticism and fueled outrage among netizens and Congress workers alike.
"Who is this Oommen Chandy, why three days leave, stop and go, I am telling the Press. My father is dead, and so is your father. For that, what should we do now? Even if you think he's good, I won't think so. If we consider the case of Karunakaran, won't we know who he is?” Vinayakan was heard saying during the live stream.
