Felicitation event for actor Mohanlal organised with political interest: KC Venugopal

AICC general secretary KC Venugopal on Sunday slammed the Kerala government for organising a programme to honour actor Mohanlal with political motives and using it as a public relations exercise ahead of the elections.

He was referring to the felicitation programme organised by the state government in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday to honour Mohanlal, who recently won the Dadasaheb Phalke award.

Speaking to reporters here, Venugopal said while the Congress welcomed and had already conveyed its congratulations for recognising a great actor like Mohanlal, the government’s attempt to exploit the event for political gain was "highly objectionable."

"It is good that the government felicitated the actor. But the event was organised with a political interest behind it. Since the purpose was to honour Mohanlal, we don’t want to create any controversy," he said.

He added that Mohanlal is loved and respected by people across the state, but the organisers chose to hold the event with vested interests.

Venugopal alleged that the government, having earned public resentment through its wrong decisions, was now using such events to cover up its failures.

When asked about the absence of Congress leaders from the felicitation, he said he was unaware if party leaders had been invited. "Whether we distanced ourselves from the event will be clear only after knowing who all were invited," he added.

Venugopal also criticised the government for violating the Kerala High Court's directions by using public funds for the Global Ayyappa Sangamam held in Pampa last month, alleging that Rs 8.5 crore from the exchequer had been allocated for the event.

"The government is moving from one blunder to another. By attempting to turn sacred places like Sabarimala into a stage of political controversy, its true motives are revealed," he said.

He urged that instead of courting disputes, the government should have ensured such programmes were conducted without controversy. "There is no doubt that Kerala society will clearly realise the government’s real intentions," he said.