Dressed in black, Chandy Oommen calls election day ‘the most painful’ for family

Puthuppally: Chandy Oommen arrived at the polling booth dressed in black as a mark of protest, describing the day as “the most painful” for his family. Speaking to the media, he said his father, former Chief Minister Oommen Chandy, had been persecuted by the government, and that today’s events were a continuation of that injustice.

The incomplete mini civil station in Puthuppally had been named after Oommen Chandy, a move Chandy Oommen criticised. After casting his vote alongside his mother, Mariamma Oommen, and sister, Maria, at booth number 140 of Puthuppally Georgian Public School, he addressed reporters, asking: “Should we be insulted like this?”

“Today, Puthuppally and Kerala are voting against the Left government. There are many protests across the state. This government persecuted my father unjustly for nine years. Not only were they persecuted, but those responsible were protected—and continue to be protected. This is a protest against that,” he said.

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Chandy Oommen added that the persecution extended to the constituency, with development works being stalled due to lack of funding. “Bridges and super-specialty hospitals remain incomplete, exactly as they were when the Oommen Chandy government left them. They even named an incomplete civil station after my father. Should they insult us like this, even after his death?”

He also referenced wider public grievances, including the Sabarimala gold smuggling case, noting that many people would express their discontent at the polls. “Black is a colour of protest. Today, many people are raising this issue as part of a long-standing tradition,” he said.

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Chandy Oommen recalled the investigations that followed his father’s tenure: “They hunted for three years, creating baseless stories. Then came the CBI inquiry. Can we accept it when they say we did nothing, after doing everything they could to persecute us? For the family, this is the most painful day. We are expressing our protest with that pain.”