Thiruvananthapuram: Trolled by social media for his on-air blunder about the death of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, sports minister E.P. Jayarajan received support from unexpected quarters.
Former chief minister Oommen Chandy on Friday said the media could have shown some restraint in attacking Jayarajan. “The media used to cover up for us when we had a slip of tongue. It is no longer the case,” he said.
Chandy even recalled an incident when he got out of a flight before its departure to Kozhikode because he was told that former President K R Narayanan had died. Television reporters and cameramen were already waiting for his comments around the Chief Minister’s Office. He bought some time and got into the office.
His colleague K M Mani was heard condoling the death on TV channels. A few minutes later, the Crime Branch informed the chief minister that Narayanan was not yet dead. He died two hours after the news broke out.
When asked about his successor Pinarayi Vijayan’s comment that the chief minister was not supposed to be a public relations officer, in an apparent barb to Chandy’s style of mass interactions, he said even he had thought so initially.
“I had let the Public Relations Department to explain the cabinet decisions. But the media would not let me do so,” he said.
The former CM was in a lighter mood on Friday. As soon as he finished the press conference, he bumped into Congress state president V.M. Sudheeran, who wondered about the lengthy press interaction. “They can’t get hold of Pinarayi. So they are giving me his share as well,” Chandy quipped.