Thiruvananthapuram: It was perhaps the last thing expected from Kerala's minister for culture.
While replying to the discussion on Kerala Cooperative Societies (Third Amendment) Bill, 2022, in the Assembly on Monday, V N Vasavan, who is also the minister for cooperation, made a weird comparison to demonstrate what he thought was Indian National Congress's pitiable fall from grace. "To better understand the plight of the Congress party, it can be said that the party that was once as tall as Amitabh Bachchan has now shrunk to the size of Malayalam's Indrans," he said, finding it difficult to stop laughing at his own joke. Thankfully, no one even on the ruling side found this funny.
Later, Opposition Leader V D Satheesan told the Speaker that there was body shaming in the minister's remark and that it was politically incorrect. "I would urge the minister to withdraw his comment," Satheesan said.
Speaker N Shamseer said that the minister himself had written to him requesting that his words be expunged.
If the minister was referring to Indrans' size, it is as Satheesan pointed out body shaming. But some LDF MLAs Onmanorama talked to said Vasavan was actually referring to the stature of the two actors.
Even this was problematic, one of them said. "In fact, Indrans had grown in stature in the last decade. These days, his performances, be it in 'Home' or 'Udal' or even the minor role in 'Anjaam Paathira', are talked about with greater reverence than Bachchan's," a young CPI MLA, a film buff, said.
Seen from even this perspective, Vasavan's comparison is not just inappropriate but downright foolish.
The minister seems to have been provoked by the comments of Congress legislators Sunny Joseph and Mathew Kuzhalnadan, whose anti-CPM comments in turn were triggered by the ridicule of CPM MLA P Nandakumar.
Nandakumar said though it claims to be the main opposition, Congress was virtually defunct as an opposition force at the national level. He also made fun of Rahul Gandhi's Bharat Jodo Yatra, saying that beyond Kerala, the yatra was indulging in soft Hindutva theatrics.
Sunny Joseph said it would be better for Nandakumar to assess his own party's relevance at the national level than make fun of the Congress and Bharat Jodo Yatra.
Mathew Kuzhalnadan said it was strange that Nandakumar did not even make a passing reference to the Congress triumph in Himachal Pradesh. "It was as if he was not even aware of this victory," Kuzhalnadan said.
Sunny Joseph said it was wrong to say that the CPM was not aware of the Congress win. "It was with great relief that some CPM friends of mine told me that WE had won in Himachal Pradesh," he said to loud Opposition cheers. "Actually, they meant it," Joseph said.
It was these comments that eventually led to Vasavan's unfitting and uncalled-for Amitabh-Indrans comparison.
Vasavan also told a story about a container of crabs that were shipped to America. Sensing the restlessness of the crabs, the passengers feared that the crustaceans would climb out of the container and create havoc. "But the captain of the ship reassured them. He said these were crabs from Kerala. None of them would get out of the container as each crab will pull the other one down," Vasavan said.
The minister meant infighting in the Congress but in the light of his belittling remarks about Indrans, an actor who has now scaled great artistic heights, Vasavan's story seemed an allegory of his own crab behaviour.
