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Anirudha Karindalam
Anirudha Karindalam

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

We will take legal action against Mani: BJP

mm-mani (File) Kerala minister M.M.Mani

The Kerala minister had said that Modi suffered from biological defects, and that was the reason his wife left him

The national leadership of the BJP has hit out against Kerala’s electricity minister, M.M. Mani, 72, for attacking Prime Minister Narendra Modi personally at a byelection rally in Malappuram Lok Sabha constituency in Kerala. Mani, apparently, said that Modi was suffering from biological defects, and that was the reason his wife left him. He also said that Modi treated his mother badly.

Said the BJP’s national secretary and party in-charge for Kerala, H. Raja, to THE WEEK, “We are going to take legal action against Mani. It is unbecoming for a minister to speak like this. We will deal with him.”

National general secretary of the BJP P. Muralidhar Rao said that the onus was now on the CPI(M) to get rid of such useless leaders. Said Rao to THE WEEK, “First, the CPI(M) in Kerala has to condemn the minister’s statement. Or else, we will have to construe that as the party’s reaction. The communist parties in India cannot afford to have such leaders, who will erode their popularity even further.”

Spokesperson of the BJP G.V.L. Narasimha Rao said that leaders in CPI(M) in Kerala were jealous of Modi and his growing popularity. Said he to THE WEEK, “Such a statement from the minister reflects the party’s mindset. The LDF in Kerala, of which the CPI(M) is a part of, is facing the heat of the BJP’s emergence in the state. People of Kerala are hurt by Mani’s comment against the prime minister. Soon, they will give a befitting response. The CPI(M) in Kerala continues to practise gutter politics.”

Mani, on his part, has denied making any personal attack on the prime minister. Said he to THE WEEK, “My words were twisted by journalists. I never said that Modi had a biological problem. I only said that he should not have abandoned his wife in this manner. What’s wrong with that?” Television channels showed Mani saying it.

Said CPI(M) Polit Bureau member S. Ramachandran Pillai to THE WEEK, “I am not aware of what Mani said. I will try to find out why he said that.”

A controversial leader who is known to speak his mind, Mani is an accused in the murder of a Congress leader at his hometown in Idukki district in 1982. In 2012, at a rally, Mani boasted about the so-called party method of killing its opponents. After much furore, he stepped down as the party’s secretary in Idukki. A police case was registered against him. Notwithstanding the speech, Mani won the 2016 assembly elections in the state from Udumbanchola constituency by a margin of around thousand votes.

In November, Mani took over as the state electricity minister after the then industries minister E.P. Jayarajan resigned over nepotism charges. 

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Topics : #BJP

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