Daijiworld Media Network - Chengannur (Kerala)
Chengannur (Kerala), Sep 9: Kerala Leader of Opposition and former Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday lashed out at media persons who repeatedly questioned him about the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) latest action involving him and his family.
"Are you going to come to the bathroom with me?" Vijayan retorted as reporters gathered around him at the Kallissery PWD Rest House.
It was Vijayan's first public appearance before the media after the ED forwarded its findings and supporting material to the state police chief under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, seeking registration of a case under the Prevention of Corruption Act and other applicable laws against him, his daughter T. Veena, son-in-law and MLA P.A. Mohammed Riyas, among others.
Vijayan stopped at the rest house around noon while travelling to Changancherry. A group of media personnel was waiting at the portico when he stepped out of his official car.
Reporters closed in and repeatedly asked him about the ED action, but Vijayan initially remained silent.
He walked into the state-owned rest house, with reporters following him and putting the same question to him several more times.
As he was about to enter a room, a visibly angry Vijayan turned back and made the curt retort. "I came here not to meet you," he added.
He offered no response when he later emerged from the rest house and got into his vehicle before leaving for Changancherry.
Vijayan was also scheduled to address a party meeting in Alappuzha district.
His reluctance to engage with the media is not new. During his decade as Chief Minister, Vijayan scrapped the weekly post-Cabinet media briefing, a practice that had been followed for several decades.
His approach was clear: he would speak when he chose to, rather than when the media wanted him to.
That style has produced several memorable exchanges over the years. A video that went viral in July 2017 showed Vijayan angrily asking media personnel to leave as he arrived for a meeting with BJP-RSS leaders in Thiruvananthapuram.
Nine years later, the setting has changed, but his response this time was unmistakably vintage Vijayan.