Kerala Congress president told Health Minister ‘Covid Queen’, controversy over statement

Kerala Congress president told Health Minister 'Covid Queen', controversy over statement
Kerala Congress president told Health Minister 'Covid Queen', controversy over statement

In a controversial statement on Friday, Congress Kerala President M Ramachandran said that state Health Minister KK Shailaja wanted to get the title of ‘COVID Queen’. This statement of Ramachandran was followed by a strong reaction from the CPI (M). Congress Kerala President M Ramachandran

The Communist Party of Marxist described Ramachandran’s statement as gender discriminatory and asked him to publicly apologize. Ramachandran also said that Shailaja had become a ‘guest artist’ in Kozhikode during the outbreak of Nipah virus and attempted to become a ‘Nipah princess’. 

Reacting to Ramachandran’s statement, JY Finance Minister TM Thomas Isaac wrote on Twitter, “The KPCC president is telling Kerala Health Minister Shailaja that the Nipah princess has now gone on to become the Kovid queen. Can any leader fall so low? All this Shailaja and the praise that the Kerala government has received for dealing with the epidemic will not be less.

Senior CPI (M) leader Brinda Karat condemned Ramachandran’s statement and said such a statement reflects gender discrimination. Ramachandran made a controversial statement during the protest by Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala. 

He said, ‘Our health minister had become a guest artist in Kozhikode during the outbreak of Nipah virus. The Congress leader said, “As she attempted to become a Nipah princess, now she is trying to become a Kovid queen.”