It's betrayal, father's soul will not forgive her: Murali

KOZHIKODE: Congress MP K Muraleedharan accused his sister Padmaja Venugopal of betrayal and added that the soul of Karunakaran will not forgive her after she joined BJP. Responding to the news emotionally, he said that he has snapped all ties with her and her joining BJP won't benefit the party 'even by a cent'.
"This is nothing but betrayal, especially when elections are around the corner.The soul of my father won't forgive this as she has gone after communal forces. That is why I said I'm ending all ties with her and there is nothing more to add. There won't be any compromise with those who betray the party even if it is one's sister," said Muraleedharan.
Muraleedharan also refuted Padmaja's claims that she had faced neglect in Congress and said the party had given her prime importance. "When one's ambitions grow beyond what the party can provide, what can be done? For work-at-home people all these positions are enough. We all have faced many hardships as part of party work. I'm not saying whether she has faced such difficulties," he said.
Muraleedharan said while he had contested in constituencies where LDF had strong base like Vattiyoorkavu in 2011 and Vadakara in 2019, he was able to win but Padmaja was given seats like Mukundapuram where Congress had won, but she lost by 1.5 lakh votes. She was fielded in Thrissur twice and yet she lost.
"It is being said that some persons in the party tried to defeat her. There is no basis for such an allegation. K Karunakaran was a leader who did not align with communal forces. So, a person from Karunakaran's family joining BJP is a matter of sadness for secular-minded people. But our fight against BJP won't be weakened in any manner. BJP won't get any benefit in state due to Padmaja's entry in the party. We will avenge this betrayal through EVMs," he said.
When asked if Padmaja's joining BJP will affect his poll prospects in Vadakara, Muraleedharan said that the voters of Vadakara know that he is not a person who will ever compromise with communal forces. When asked about speculation that the Centre could confer Bharat Ratna on K Karunakaran, Muraleedharan said that in recent times, that award had lost its value and become a means for BJP to secure votes.