'After giving my own money to this party, I was insulted.'
'Neither this party nor its leaders have no respect for women.'
Padmaja Venugopal, daughter of the late Congress leader and former Kerala chief minister K Karunakaran, joining the Bharatiya Janata Party made the front pages in Kerala.
A video of Communist Party of India-Marxist leader Brinda Karat then went viral in Kerala.
In the video, Karat spoke eloquently about the daughter of a former chief minister leaving the Congress. She said it depicted the pathetic state of the Congress in Kerala. She did not mention any name.
After finishing the long sentence, she looked at the translator. He just said, 'Padmaja poyi' (Padmaja is gone).
Karat was baffled for a moment before exclaiming that everybody understood what she was trying to say.
After making innumerable phone calls, Rediff.com's Shobha Warrier finally spoke to Padmaja when she was on her way to campaign for her new party in Vadakara, a seat her elder brother K Muraleedharan had won in 2019.
Muraleedharan has moved to Thrissur -- Karunakaran's home turf -- where he is taking on he BJP's Suresh Gopi.
Have you been feeling dissatisfied with the Congress for some time? Or was it a sudden decision to leave the Congress and join the BJP?
No, it was not a sudden decision. I have been thinking about leaving after what happened to me in the last two elections. They gave me the ticket to contest, but they also saw to it that I lost the elections.
This is the way the Kerala state Congress treats women. They make sure that all the women candidates lose the election.
You mean the workers?
No. There are some leaders who behave like this. After the last assembly election, I decided then that I have had enough of this party.
Many years ago, the government had given some land in Thrissur to build a memorial for my father. It has been 14 years since Achan (father) passed away but nothing has come up in the land.
I felt this was a party that would not even give justice to Achan. Then, what can I expect?
After giving my own money to this party, I was insulted. Neither this party nor its leaders have no respect for women.
After suffering so many insults, I thought, enough!
I had no plans to join the BJP when I decided to leave the Congress. But then I was quite impressed by Modiji's leadership qualities, and that was why I chose the BJP. I believe a party will grow only when it has a strong leader.
Did you send feelers to the BJP, or did they approach you?
They approached me. If not, I would not have joined.
You said, the state Congress does not respect women. The BJP also is known for its patriarchal views on women...
Have you seen the way they treat women? They are extremely respectful towards women. They perceive a woman as mother. So, you will never have to face any insults in this party.
The BJP of today is not the BJP of the past. They have become very inclusive in their approach. Have you noticed the candidates for this election? Anil Antony from Pathanamthitta, Abdul Salam from Malappuram, etc.
In what way was the Congress disrespectful to you?
How many women are there in the state executive committee? How many women are given tickets in this election? Only the sitting MP was given the ticket to contest.
On the other hand, the BJP has given tickets to four women.
You said you had been experiencing misogyny for quite a few years. Did you tell Sonia Gandhi when she was the party president?
Many times. She really wanted to promote women, but the party leaders in Kerala were never in favour of that. If there were 10 candidates, they would give only one seat to a woman and divide the rest among themselves.
I understood that Sonia Gandhi was upset about this, but she could not do anything. Now, she is not active because of ill health. So, I lost all hope for any solution to the problems I faced.
At your Thrissur press conference you alleged that the state leadership asked lakhs of rupees from you if you wanted to travel in the open jeep with Priyanka Gandhi...
My request was not to travel in Priyanka Gandhi's vehicle.
In 2016, even before the election was declared, they told me they would campaign for me only if I paid a certain amount. They knew I was going to be a candidate.
How much did they ask for?
Around 50 lakhs. I said, I have been contributing whatever I can to the party. I asked, why should I give you separately?' They threatened me that none of them would help me in the campaign.
I gave them what I could.
At the press conference, you said Rs 22 lakhs..
Yes, Rs 22 lakhs. I withdrew money from my account and gave them. But they were not happy with the amount.
When Priyanka Gandhi came to campaign in Thrissur, I said I should be with her in the jeep as I was the candidate. Their response was, we decide who goes with her.
I saw Prathapan, the MP with her in the jeep when I was the candidate. If you look at the Malayalam newspapers of the next day, you will see the headline, Prathapan in, Padmaja out!
Another incident that happened to me was, the day before the meeting when I went to inspect the place, I found that there was not a single photo of mine there. I had to seek the help of Youth Congress workers to paste my posters.
At the meeting when they called out the names, my name was the fifth when my name should have been the first as I was the candidate.
I was the state vice president then, but they took the post away from me and made me an executive member.
In the election, I lost by just 900 votes only because those leaders were out to defeat me.
The last straw was not doing anything for my father's memorial.
If I have to list the insults I had to bear from the state leaders, the list will be very long.
- Part 2 of the Interview: 'Can you name one strong leader Congress has?'
Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com
