Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, known for his vitriolic comments against critics, has once again come under the pump for calling a former bishop an "idiot" for warning the Left of even worse setbacks after the latest poll debacle in the state.
The former metropolitan of Niranam Diocese of the Jacobite Syrian Church, Geevarghese Coorilos, in a statement on Thursday warned the Left parties: "If they don’t learn from the continuous shock treatment being given by the people, the Left would be in a situation similar to the one in West Bengal and Tripura."
The clergyman also cautioned the Left Democratic Front (LDF) that its efficient handling of the 2018 floods and the Covid-19 pandemic were among the reasons people voted it back to power in 2021 and that "floods and pandemics cannot always help".
Coorilos's statement was regarding the electoral setback the LDF faced this election in which the alliance couldn't better its 2019 tally of one seat whereas the BJP, which had faced major resistance from the ruling coalition, forayed into the state with the Thrissur seat win.
Vijayan, however, didn't take the observations kindly and lashed out at the former bishop, a reputable theologian known for his secular outlook.
"I happened to see a statement by a former priest, that it was the flood that brought this government back to power…What is clear from that statement is that there could be idiots even among priests,” the CPM leader said.
Coorilos, however, refused to join the discussions on the impropriety of the chief minister’s comments. "Whatever I said is still out there (on Facebook). I have nothing more to say or react. The matter has ended there,” he told reporters on Saturday.
Vijayan has had several such run-ins with those critical of his party or his government in the past. In 2007, as then CPM state secretary, he had called the then bishop of Thamarassery Diocese, Paul Chittilapally, a “wretched creature” for allegedly lying that former CPM lawmaker Mathai Chacko had been given the last sacrament according to his own wish.
Leader of the Opposition V.D. Satheesan slammed Vijayan for his intolerance to criticism. “This is an example of how he doesn’t tolerate any criticism within or outside his party,” he told reporters.
