After the controversy surrounding former Congress president Chettur Sankaran Nair, the BJP has shifted their attention to the late freedom fighter and Congress leader V R Krishnan Ezhuthachan. On the occasion of his 21st death anniversary on Tuesday, the BJP made a political move by offering floral tributes at his memorial and organising a remembrance meeting.

It was the Congress that initially decided to hold the remembrance ceremony at Ezhuthachan's home in Avanissery in Thrissur. Like previous years, senior leader and close friend of Ezhuthachan, V M Sudheeran, participated in the event. He inaugurated the remembrance meeting after offering floral tributes at the memorial. He sharply criticised BJP’s attempts to co-opt Ezhuthachan, asserting that the late freedom fighter belonged to the Congress’ legacy and dismissed BJP's claim as mockery. Sudheeran said that the people would respond to such distortions with ridicule.

Following the Congress program, the BJP held their own commemoration. Led by National Council member Sobha Surendran, they offered floral tributes and held a public meeting at the memorial. Some members of Ezhuthachan's family also participated in the event. According to Sobha Surendran, their remembrance was not politically motivated but rooted in tradition and emotional reverence for Ezhuthachan.

V R Krishnan Ezhuthachan was a freedom fighter, member of the erstwhile Cochin legislative assembly, one of the founding leaders of the Khadi movement, and above all, the political mentor of senior Congress leader K Karunakaran. From his student days until his death, Ezhuthachan remained a staunch Congressman. However, BJP's attempt to appropriate him on his death anniversary has drawn attention.

Allegations that the BJP is trying to claim Ezhuthachan began during the Lok Sabha election campaign, when Union Minister Suresh Gopi visited his house — the first BJP leader to do so. Suresh Gopi also helped renovate Ezhuthachan’s memorial using his MP fund during his tenure as a Rajya Sabha MP. Following this, Ezhuthachan’s son V K Jayadevan and family joined the BJP, marking the beginning of the party’s effort to embrace his legacy.