Senior Congress leader and Kerala Assembly Speaker N Sakthan has got embroiled in a controversy after he made his driver undo the straps of his footwear in front of scores of people. Sakthan, however, justified the incident by saying that the driver was merely helping him as he was a patient of a very rare ailment due to which he should not bend his body to wear or remove footwear.
The incident occurred at the State Assembly Complex gardens in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday where he inaugurated a paddy harvest festival. After inaugurating the fest by cutting some paddy plants, he was to thresh the harvested paddy. This was when the driver, Biju, was seen sitting at the Speaker’s feet and undoing the straps of his sandals.
The incident had taken place in front of several people including Agriculture Minister KP Mohanan, Government secretaries, employees in the State Assembly and news reporters, photographers and TV cameramen. Politicians from the Opposition and cultural personalities were quick to flay Sakthan saying the incident showed his arrogance and feudal character.
Hours after the controversy erupted following the appearance of reports on the incident and pictures and videos of the driver undoing Sakthan’s footwear straps appeared in the media on Thursday, he met newsmen to defend himself by saying that Biju helped him to remove his sandals as he could not bend to do so due to a very rare eye disease.
“It is a very rare ailment which affects one in - say - 100,000 persons. It is a disease in which blood veins in the eye snap leading to vision impairment. Doctors had given me strict advice that I should not bend my
body because blood could rush into veins in the eye. That is why Biju follows me wherever I go and helps me for wearing and removing chappals,” Sakthan said.
The Speaker said that Biju, who was also a close relative, had been with him ever since the ailment was diagnosed some 18 years back. However, Sakthan was unable to offer a clear explanation when newsmen pointed out that he was seen bending his body to cut the paddy plants and to thresh the harvested paddy though he could not undo footwear straps by himself.
Sakthan further said that the doctors had forbidden him from lifting heavy articles and exposing himself to high temperatures. However, when newsmen asked him as to how he could engage in election campaigns in summer when he could not expose himself to severe sunlight, he failed to offer a clear reply.
“It was a very small incident. It was not deliberate but it happened as I had to take care of my health. I had not asked my driver to un-strap my chappals. He had done it on his own. However, the media blew this out of proportion without bothering to seek my explanation. But I have no complaints,” the Speaker said.
“It was very bad,” said Opposition leader VS Achuthanandan, referring to the incident while Chief Minister Oommen Chandy refused to make any comment. “There is no reason to disbelieve the Speaker when he speaks about his ailment. There is no need to create a controversy out of it,” said State Congress president VM Sudheeran.
This is not the first time Sakthan has stirred up a controversy. He was accused of being biased after he refused to take action against the Congress legislators who had allegedly misbehaved with leftist woman MlAs during a ruckus created in the Assembly by Opposition members who were protesting the Budget presentation by tainted Finance Minister KM Mani on March 13 last.