Kerala Chief Minister’s moment with young landslide survivor takes political turn

A heartwarming moment between Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and a three-year-old girl during the inauguration of the township for landslide survivors in Wayanad became a focal point for political debate on Sunday.

Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)] leaders leveraged the interaction to target Prime Minister Narendra Modi, comparing his previous interaction with the child.

The child was identified as Nysa, who gained national attention after Mr. Modi’s interaction with her during his visit to a hospital in the hill district soon after the Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslides.

One of the youngest survivors of the tragedy, Nysa had lost her father, siblings and home to the disaster that had ravaged Wayanad on July 30, 2024.

The video of the exchanges between the child and the Mr. Modi had gone viral on social media platforms and widely carried by the national media.

Nysa and her mother also got a home when the Mr. Vijayan handed over keys of houses to 178 survivors at the newly constructed township.

Soon after television channels aired visuals of Mr. Vijayan’s interaction, MP John Brittas and General Education Minister V. Sivankutty hailed the gesture on their social media handles.

Mr. Brittas, in his Facebook post, shared the videos of both the Prime Minister and the Chief Minister with the child and said one person had left after his “show,” and the other has implemented what he promised.

The MP alleged that the Prime Minister, who took the child in his arms and pampered her during his visit, refused to give anything to her or her family later. The Chief Minister held the girl in his lap and pampered her after fulfilling his promises, he pointed out.

‘Reel and real’

In his Facebook post, Mr. Sivankutty also took a dig at Mr. Modi, saying, “What was seen in the reel then and what is being seen in real today.” “The Left government says only what it can do and it does what it says,” the senior leader posted.

Senior CPI(M) leader K.K. Shailja also shared the photo of Mr. Vijayan with Nysa and described the township inauguration as a “new chapter” in the history of survival.

The township inauguration also witnessed Congress’ Kalpetta legislator T. Siddique being heckled and booed by a crowd during his speech.

There was also booing when his name was mentioned during the welcome address. Reacting to the incident, Mr. Siddique said it was staged by the CPI(M) workers, who protested against him.

Noting that everyone worked along with the government for the rehabilitation of the landslide survivors, he said he would continue to work for them in the future as well.

During his speech, Revenue Minister K. Rajan apparently took a dig at Mr. Siddique and the Congress, saying that the Left government is not the one that merely lays a single stone and leaves, but it places stone upon stone and build further.