THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It seems the Youth Congress may bring more embarrassment to the Congress party, with the latest incident involving allegations of blasphemy.
If it was the discredited MLA who has been creating a headache for the party, the latest episode involves Youth Congress leader and Congress spokesperson Jinto John, who made a blasphemous statement against Lord Krishna. Though Jinto expressed regret after BJP came out strongly against him, the controversy is likely to haunt the party in the days to come.
It was in a channel discussion that Jinto John reportedly made the defamatory statement. The discussion was about the cyberbullying against CPM leader K J Shine and party MLA Unnikrishnan. While participating in the discussion, Jinto said, “In Kerala, Unnikrishnan is the name given to people who indulge in immoral activities.”
After the remark became controversial, BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan criticised Jinto on his Facebook post and demanded that the Congress party and the leader should apologise for the defamatory statement. “The word ‘Unnikrishnan’ has great sentimental value in the hearts of Hindus. It involves reverence and love. It is natural for people who lead a low life to think of immoral activities when they hear the word Unnikrishnan. Do not think that Hindus will keep silent if anyone defames their deity,” he said.
Meanwhile, Jinto John expressed regret over the controversial statement and explained that it was a slip of the tongue. “It occurred in the middle of an argument with the channel anchor,” he said. However, KPCC president Sunny Joseph stated that the issue of taking disciplinary action had not yet reached him.
The CPM leaders had earlier boycotted Jinto in channel discussions in protest against his reported defamatory post against K J Shine. Within the Congress, there is discontent over the behaviour of certain Youth Congress leaders, which allegedly put the leadership in a tight spot.
When Rahul Mamkootathil came to attend the assembly session, he was accompanied by Youth Congress leader Nemom Shajeer though the former was suspended from the primary membership of Congress party. Though Youth Congress workers demanded strict action against the leader, the leadership is yet to act. “There is no control over the youth leaders who are on a rampage in Kerala politics,” a KPCC leader said.
