Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan Monday issued a public apology to superstar Mammootty over attacks from Left-handled accounts in apparent response to the actor-producer asking a CPI(M) district functionary who accompanied him not to follow too closely during a visit to the Wayanad Model Township.
“The unfortunate thing is the reports that CPI(M) cyber activists attacked him. Have the CPI(M) cyber workers not been able to identify Mammootty? If, as part of such a campaign, our Malayali’s great actor felt any discomfort or trouble at this stage, I publicly apologise to him. Insulting him in such a manner was something that should not have happened,” Vijayan said at an event in Thiruvananthapuram.
He added that the actor’s reaction to the CPI(M) worker was natural, as the visit to Wayanad township was of a personal nature, and the government or political parties were thus not informed .
“Naturally, he tells that young man, ‘I didn’t come because you invited me, I am here on my own. You will not walk with me.’ Otherwise, it might have been interpreted differently,” Vijayan said. He said the visuals were used to create a controversy and to circulate news that the CPI(M) worker was insulted.
Vijayan’s remarks come a day after Mammootty’s interaction with CPI(M) Wayanad district secretary K. Rafeeq went viral online, where the actor was seen telling the politician not to follow him closely, saying it could give the impression that the actor’s visit was on the party’s behalf.
Following this, the actor also received criticism online, especially from associated Left-handlers, claiming his remark was disrespectful. Soon after, Rafeeq said that the actor had called him to clarify that the remark was not “intended to insult him”.
Rafeeq said his intervention in the event was to avoid “trouble” for the actor. In a Facebook post on Sunday, he also requested that the controversy should not diminish the accomplishments of the state government and that the news of Mammootty’s visit should only be discussed positively.
The Wayanad Model Township is a state government project to build 410 houses for the survivors of the 2024 Wayanad landslides. The first phase of the township, with 178 houses and costing Rs 300 crore, was inaugurated, on March 1.
(Edited by Nardeep Singh Dahiya)