Guruvayur: An audio clip of a top Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) aide’s rant on his party colleagues including a woman leader has stirred up a row.
NCP state general secretary V G Raveendran, whose audio clip has surfaced, is a Guruvayur Devaswon governing board member also. NCP Thazhava (Kollam district) mandalalam president Sunila had requested Raveendran to get a hassle-free passage for darshan at Guruvayur temple, which the former declined.
When he was contacted by NCP Karunagapalli block president Chandran with the same request, Raveendran got furious and slammed Sunila for calling him with the request. “Only NCP state or district leaders should contact me. I am not here to take calls from all and sundry (in an abusive local dialect),” Raveendran was heard saying in the audio clip.
After the clip surfaced, there was a barrage of criticism that Raveendran had made comments unbecoming of a public servant and made disparaging comments about a woman.
Raveendran on his part told Manorama that the incident occurred two months back and the issue was settled then.
He said he could not make arrangements to ensure darshan for those whom he did not know. “Only that I made the comments in a local slang,” he said charing that the comments were edited out of context in the audio clip that surfaced.