Thiruvananthapuram: The social media is abuzz with hectic activity after hearing that V. Sivankutty will be the new Education Minister of Kerala and trolls are coming thick and fast.
The 66-year-old Sivankutty has also been given the Labour portfolio and will be sworn in along with 19 of his cabinet colleagues, later on Thursday and he is unfazed by all that’s happening on the social media.
“All the topic of trolls was used against me in the 2016 and 2021 assembly polls. I don’t think one need to give much importance to such things as none can work in politics on the basis of trolls. These are being done by my adversaries and I leave it like that. My aim would be to carry forward what my predecessor Prof C. Raveendranath has been doing in the Education portfolio,” said Sivankutty.
Sivankutty won the Nemom assembly seat in the capital city by defeating the BJP candidate Kummanem Rajashekeran and regained the seat which he lost to BJP stalwart O. Rajagopal in 2016 and he closed the BJP’s account in the 140-member Kerala Assembly.
All the trolls that have started are those which see Sivankutty standing on the desk on the floor of the Kerala Assembly with his dhothi raised above his knees after total mayhem prevailed in the house in 2015, when the then Left opposition created ruckus and prevented Finance Minister K.M. Mani from presenting the budget.
In another picture, Sivankutty is seen handling the damaged audio visual electronic equipment in the Speaker’s podium.
Trolls have come with captions like, “See literate Kerala’s newest Education Minister,” and also “Under new Minister online classes will be good,” yet another one was, Vijayan has given the right one to Sivankutty, as the schools are unlikely to open in the near future, while another one states that all were happy when they got to hear the news that Sivankutty will be given ‘education’, but only later we came to know that he was being given the education portfolio” and similar ones.
Sivankutty has been the face of the CPI-M in the capital city for long as he grew up as a student leader and went on to become the Mayor of Thiruvananthapuram and is now a three time legislator.
Whenever the CPI-M is in the opposition, Sivankutty is always in the forefront of protests and hence he is a popular figure and always hits the headlines in the manner he takes on the police.
Meanwhile, strong defence from his supporters have also appeared and they say when the party decides to stage a protest, there is no point in coming out with pictures of the protests as the party then had decided to take up the protest in the assembly.
“If those who are really interested should go back into history and see the numerous police attacks that Sivankutty had to face and why are those pictures not being put up. If anyone thinks they can belittle him and the party, by bringing out such pictures, then they are mistaken”, said an ardent fan of Sivankutty.
