Union Minister and Thiruvananthapuram NDA candidate Rajeev Chandrasekhar landed in controversy after he wrote a condolence message claiming Kerala is facing floods and many lives have been lost.
Leaders from the ruling CPI(M) and several others responded sharply to the Union Minister, and a series of trolls flooded online.
Chandrasekhar wrote on social media in Malayalam, “Saddened to know that many lives have been lost in Kerala due to floods. My condolences to the bereaved families. Praying for the quick recovery of those injured.” He later deleted the post.
Kerala is experiencing torrential rain, and waterlogging has been reported in many parts; however, the state is not facing a flood situation.
Targeting the Union Minister for his claim that there is a flood situation in the state, General Education Minister V Sivankutty mocked him, suggesting he might have watched the movie ‘2018’, which is based on the Kerala floods of 2018. He added that Chandrasekhar could save himself from such errors if he visited Kerala occasionally, and not just during election times.
Thiruvananthapuram Mayor Arya Rajendran also shared a photo from the 2018 movie and asked if he got confused after seeing it. “Somebody please inform him that this is a movie,” she wrote.
Social media and left-leaning and Congress pages have widely shared the post with memes and sarcastic replies.
Meanwhile, heavy rains continued to lash several parts of the state, leading to waterlogging in low-lying areas of major cities, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Thrissur, and Kozhikode. Red and orange alerts have also been issued in many districts. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan advised the people of the state to remain cautious.
At least four people have died in the past few days in Kerala due to various rain-related incidents.