Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandan, on Thursday literally invaded ‘Kunhalikutty land’ in Vengara and mounted a scathing attack on the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) leader, who is contesting from there.
To strike a chord with the audience, Mr Achuthanandan cited examples from Islamic history and said that the people of Kuttippuram (from where Mr Kunhalikutty was defeated in 2006) had exposed people who were “posing as Prophet”.
“The Quraish stoned the Prophet when he tried to stop the practice of burning girls,” he said without naming Mr Kunhalikutty.
“Here there are some Quraish who are masquerading as Prophet.”
Mr Achuthanandan literally ploughed through the strongholds of the IUML in Malappuram district, sending shock waves in the United Democratic Front camp.
All public meetings witnessed huge turn-out of enthusiasts, who braved the blistering heat to listen to the the chief minister for hours .
“The huge amount of money swindled by these people when they were in power was used to hush up the cases against them,” said Mr Achuthanandan. “They splurged to influence the police and judiciary.”
Mr Achuthanandan did not even spare AICC president Sonia Gandhi and said she made “baseless statements” against the LDF government.
“People will cast their vote after comparing the five years’ LDF rule and the governance of the UDF from 2001 to 2006,” he said.
Mr Achuthanandan’s campaign in Vengara has energised the LDF camp, which was plagued by a sense of defeatism.
“Our workers have been transformed into an aggressive mood when they heard VS is coming,” said INL leader A.P. Abdul Wahab. “We will keep the tempo till the D-day.’’
The official faction in the CPI(M), which tried to prevent Mr Achuthanandan’s tour in Vengara, was also taken aback by the unprecedented participation in the function. The Chief Minister also attended meetings at Nilambur, Perinthalmanna and Ponnani.