Kerala-Telangana CM Spat Escalates: Vijayan’s Crude Retort Sparks Outrage
“Pinarayi Vijayan is following Narendra Modi as his role model, and this is not acceptable to people of Keralam," says Revanth Reddy
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The race for the upcoming Assembly elections in Kerala took an ugly turn on Tuesday when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan hurled an `derogatory’ remark at his Telangana counterpart, Revanth Reddy. Vijayan’s outburst followed Reddy’s sharp criticism during a UDF campaign rally in the Thiruvananthapuram constituency.
While addressing a road show, Reddy borrowed a popular line from Mohanlal’s hit film "Narasimham" — “nee po mone Dinesha” — and tweaked it to “Nee Po Mone Vijayan” (you get lost, Vijayan. It’s time for you to go), drawing cheers from Congress supporters.
On April 2, Vijayan sharply criticised Reddy for his comments on the performance of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in the state. In a Facebook post, Vijayan called the Telangana CM “misinformed” and accused him of “ridiculing” Kerala and its people while ignoring the flaws in his own state.
What began as a debate between the two chief ministers over claims of good governance and development in their states took an ugly turn on Tuesday with the Chief Minister’s crude remarks.
At a press conference, when asked if Reddy’s remarks were appropriate for a Chief Minister, Vijayan said, “A person holding the chief minister’s office must adhere to certain properties. Whether he has followed these norms is for him to introspect. Since he made those remarks publicly, I will also respond publicly. All I want to say to Revanth Reddy now is: ‘dash mone Revantha, Murpadi varunnund’ (Revanth, the response is coming).”
Responding to the derogatory remarks, Reddy said, “Coming from a veteran leader, I take these remarks as a blessing.”
On Monday, Reddy sent a six-page letter to Vijayan, urging him to engage in a detailed debate on Telangana’s development and governance model. “I am ready to debate with Pinarayi Vijayan whenever he gives me the opportunity. My question is, who is your role model—Narendra Modi and Amit Shah or Jyoti Basu and Somnath Chatterjee?” he asked.
He criticised Vijayan for relying on “outdated data,” selective references, and omissions, claiming that Telangana’s governance model was delivering results more quickly. The Telangana Chief Minister ended the letter by repeating his “Nee Po, Mone Vijayan!” remark.
Meanwhile, Opposition Leader V D Satheeshan criticized Vijayan for his derogatory remarks, saying, “If he loses his mental balance a bit more, he might even fill in the blank.”
