Did Chandu Salimkumar indirectly slam Krishna Kumar, Pearle Maaney?

Actor Chandu Salimkumar has stirred up social media after taking an apparent swipe at actor and BJP leader Krishna Kumar and actor Pearle Maaney over their reactions to the recent Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests. His Instagram Story, shared after the agitation culminated in the resignation of the Union Education Minister, has since gone viral.

Without mentioning anyone by name, Chandu appeared to target the two actors by referring to statements they had made during the protests.

Taking to Instagram stories, Chandu wrote, "I heard the people who claimed they had stopped stone-pelting in Kashmir came to stop stone-pelting in Delhi and went back. Is that true, guys?" Beneath the post, in smaller text, he added, "Saffron is my favourite colour."

The first remark was widely interpreted as a dig at Krishna Kumar, who had defended the government's handling of the protests earlier. During the agitation, Krishna Kumar had shared a post featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi and written, "If we know how to stop stone-pelting in Kashmir, then Delhi is nothing."

Chandu's comment about saffron, meanwhile, was seen as a reference to Pearle Maaney, who had shared a series of posts expressing her views on the protests.

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While extending support to the student movement, Pearle had appealed to protesters to avoid violence. She said that if anyone felt their life was in danger, they should return home, stressing that no cause is worth sacrificing one's life. She also wrote that as people's movements grow larger, emotions naturally run high and differing opinions emerge, but the protest should never lose sight of its original purpose.

In a separate post, Pearle had also written that saffron is her favourite colour, a statement that many social media users believe Chandu indirectly referenced in his Instagram Story.
She also took an apparent swipe at a critic by referring to a "failed filmmaker", prompting filmmaker Sibi Malayil's son, Joe Malayil, to respond publicly. Pearle later deleted the Stories and disabled comments on her original post, but the exchange continued to generate widespread discussion online.