Thiruvananthapuram: A war of words erupted on Wednesday after Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan criticised the Kerala government's handling of COVID-19 and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan lashed out at him for speaking 'utter non-sense'.
The “over confidence of Kerala" in handling the pandemic had caused a spurt in COVID-19 cases in Idukki and Kottayam districts, Muraleedharan alleged.
His remarks drew the ire of Pinarayi and Kerala's minister for tourism Kadakampally Surendran.
"I do not believe that a person holding the post of a union minister would make such an irresponsible statement. If he did it is nothing but utter nonsense,” Pinarayi said during his daily press briefing.
Kadakampally urged the union minister to evaluate the situation in Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state, where coronavirus cases are on the rise, and to concentrate on bringing back expats stuck in various countries.
Gujarat has 3,774 coronavirus positive cases so far compared to 495 in Kerala, according to the data published by the respective state governments.
While 434 people recovered and 181 died in Gujarat due to the virus, in Kerala 369 have cured and only four died.
Kottayam and Idukki, which were 'green zones' a week ago, reported a spurt in number of COVID-19 cases from Sunday onwards.
With cases showing a sudden and disturbing increase, both these districts were re-designated as 'red zones'.
Now, Kottayam (17) and Idukki (14) have more active cases than Kasaragod (13), till now the worst affected district in the state.
Muraleedharan, in a Facebook post on April 28 had said that Kerala was "on cloud nine" when it declared Idukki and Kottayam as green zones.
"However, hours after this we saw a spurt in fresh cases in these districts. The government was not cautious and instead went applauding themselves and landed in trouble. Instead of engaging in PR activities, they should have concentrated in handling the pandemic," he posted.
Slamming the union minister and BJP leader for his comments, Kadakampally asked him to urge other states to follow the Kerala model.
If there were some shortcomings on Kerala's part in handling the COVID-19 fight, anyone, including the union minister, can point it out, he said.
"Idukki has got numerous forest paths to the state from Tamil Nadu. Some of the people who are affected in Kerala came from other states. There are many cases in Ahmedabad. Is it because that city is not under lockdown," Kadakampally asked.
The union minister should have understood the reality before making such comments, he said.
