congress: Muraleedharan Vs Muraleedharan: Minister of State and Congress MP take digs at each other’s political career

Union Minister of State (Mos) for External Affairs V Muraleedharan and Congress MP K Muraleedharan on Tuesday took stock of each other’s political careers. As V Muraleedharan accused K Muraleedharan of constantly changing his statements based on prevailing circumstances, the Congress MP hit back by challenging the BJP leader to fight and win at least one poll — be it panchayat , assembly or Lok Sabha — from Kerala.

The comments by both leaders against each other were triggered following the flagoff, on Monday, of the second Vande Bharat Express train in Kerala.

“If someone like him with 50 years of experience can contest and win at least one panchayat election from Kerala, I will apologize to him for everything,” said K Muraleedharan.

His response came hours after V Muraleedharan said that the Congress MP makes statements according to prevailing circumstances and when the situation changes, he takes them back.

“In my 50-year political career, I had one ideology, one party and one stand, but he (K Muraleedharan) changed his stand and statements according to changing circumstances,” the MoS said, a day after he faced criticism from the Congress leader.

The Congress MP was critical of the way the union minister and the BJP handled the pre-flagoff event from Kasaragod railway station and the subsequent behavior of the MoS and party workers inside the train and on stations where the Express stops during its time. inaugural run. K Muraleedharan, who traveled by train from Thalassery to Thiruvananthapuram, said the BJP indulged in “low-level political games from the beginning (of the journey) and continued till the end of the train’s run”. The Congress leader said the inaugural run of the Vande Bharat Express was like an election campaign as the train halted more than the mandated time of two minutes at each station where the BJP leader came out to greet the workers and party supporters.

He also said that the executive coach of the train had become a BJP party office, as many party supporters had obtained passes, similar to those given to MPs, to board it “I kept quiet and did not say anything in my thinking. They (BJP) somehow accept a train to Kerala because they cannot accept an MP or MLA from here,” he said.

The Congress leader also said that such activities should not be repeated in future, if the party does not organize a strong protest.

Responding to the comments, the MoS rejected the Congress’s allegations and said people welcome the train at stations and not him. V Muraleedharan said BJP workers and supporters had gathered at the stations to greet the train and not him, as it was something they had not seen in the past.

“So the train is the celebrity. People take selfies on the train and not me,” he said. The MoS said there was nothing stopping Congress workers and supporters from going to the station to greet the train or get passes to board it.

“Those who were happy with the development in the state came to see and greet the train. If the Congress people are not happy, then their mindset needs to change,” said V Muraleedharan. On the issue of BJP workers having the same passes as given to MPs, the minister said K Muraleedharan should realize that in a democracy, MPs are servants of the people and not their bosses and therefore he should try to travel with common people.

Hours later, K Muraleedharan responded to the MoS’s comments saying that his criticism the previous day was not directed at the union minister personally but was only pointing out the wrong actions of the BJP leader for his party.

“I was just pointing out his wrong actions on behalf of his party. I have been elected by the people and when I see low-level political games, I am obliged to criticize it. That’s what I said yesterday and I stand firm on that ,” he says.

The Congress MP further said that new trains like Vande Bharat express have changed circumstances and timings. “That is not one’s courtesy nor is it one’s personal property. It is something that the people of Kerala have a right to. It is because of the profitability of the first Vande Bharat Express that the second one was given. It was not given for free just like that. “Of all the Vande Bharat trains, the one on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kasaragod route is the most profitable. That’s why we got second. That’s what I said and I stand by it,” said K Muraleedharan.